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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23349550">Villainy demands little evil</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlooBlu/pseuds/BlooBlu'>BlooBlu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Heroism and all its nonsense [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst and Feels, Astral Projection, Baby, Bad Friends, Because if you haven't noticed he switches between he and they pronouns, Breaking and Entering, Broken Bones, Bugs &amp; Insects, Character Death, Chemical spill, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Cookies, Crying, Deceit Sanders Has a Different Name, Depression, Disassociation, Ducks, Explosions, Flash Forward, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Genderfluid Character, Heist, Homelessness, Hospitals, Illegal Activities, Im talking about Nathan, Implied underage drinking, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kicking in doors, M/M, Making weapons, Mentions of surgery, Morally Ambiguous Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Patton freaks tf out, Pickpockets, Picnics, Roman's heart rate causes problems, Running Away, Sad Backstory, Slow Burn, Swearing, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Tattoos, Teenage romance? More like dorks who don't have time falling in love lmao, The hero and the villain become friends trope, Thomas is a chracter, Tragic events, Underage Drinking, Weapons, Well more like the villain adopts the child hero lol, alcohol mention, breakfast muffins!, drones, gambling with fate, hospital visits, icky motel, it isnt really a part of the story though just a small detail, like an actual infant, no beta we die like men, not necessarily in this order XD, pacemaker mention, questionable morality from our superhero, stealing to survive, superpower-giving operation, talk of tattoos and piercings, talk of vigilantism, uncomfortable situations, ~sleepover~</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:28:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>51,593</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23349550</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlooBlu/pseuds/BlooBlu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“He’d known, intellectually, that his heroic nemesis was a teenager, but that had never really sunk in until one of the local high schools had called him, saying that he was Mr. Kingsley’s only emergency contact."</p><p> </p><p><b>EDIT:</b> If you want to be in the discord where it happens, I have just made a server where you can see me writing fics in real-time!<br/>https://discord.gg/jbY6uFh hope to see yall soon!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders &amp; Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Heroism and all its nonsense [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>364</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. "Uncle Logan"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i>Supervillain</i> wasn’t really a term Logan preferred use in reference to his career. There was nothing <i>super</i> about what he did - it was simply an advanced application of his knowledge of science and engineering to get what he wants. Because, as a civilian, it would be impossible to do what he does now; he would need <i>permits</i> and <i>grants,</i> and all of that legal jargon. It was <i>much</i> easier to simply take the money and resources he would need to create the closest thing this world had ever seen to an actual death ray. While the mythbusters had restricted themselves to archimedes’s method of using many mirrors and sunlight to achieve such a feat, there were many more... modern forms of technology that could make a concentrated beam of plasma, capable of burning and piercing- </p><p>The point is, that he is not particularly <i>super,</i> and he doesn’t believe in good or bad as anything but subjective, philosophical concepts, so he really wouldn’t call himself <i>villainous</i> either.</p><p>That being said, the general populous <i>does<i> refer to him as such, and in a rather cliche turn of events, he also has a “superhero” nemesis. Of course, Logan finds it difficult to really call what is obviously a <i>teenager</i> his “nemesis,” but this… Red Knight is certainly a problematic character nonetheless.  </i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The Red Knight is boosted. There is no other way to explain his ability to manipulate some form of… solid, red-tinted light or plasma. It is utterly ridiculous to watch, as the solid light has a quality of looking like it is covered in glitter, like a child’s painting. Still, it is quite powerful, and able to withstand any blunt force less than the 50 ton cannonball Logan invented specifically to shatter them. (No, he did <i>not</i> fire a 50 ton projectile at that <i>child</i> in a halloween costume, but a bank he was trying to protect with a glittering dome.) </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    Besides that, the Red Knight is simply too physically powerful and agile to be a regular human, even one with olympic-grade training. And becoming boosted is really only trouble for those who lack money or aren’t extremely desperate. Through the legal channels, citizens can pay a hefty sum to become boosted, under the agreement that they will register all the specifics of their power or powers, and they must be sedated on planes and ships, etcetera etcetera… The less legal option provides the operation for free, in exchange for a certain amount of labor or valuable items, depending on who you make the transaction with. Logan has considered getting boosted himself many times, but he decided that it wouldn’t be worth it. He doesn’t need powers to do his job. It would be admitting that he does not believe himself to be strong or intelligent enough to achieve similar feats on his own. Not to mention that the operation has a 15% mortality rate, even when performed by the most experienced and well-equipped surgeons.
  
</i></p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  
    So the Red Knight either had a rich family, or he knew someone who could do it for him, and he had paid some other way. Logan would be lying to say he isn’t curious which one it was… 
  
</p><p>
  
    . . .
  
</p><p>
 
    Logan <i>truly</i> regrets having woken up, today.
  
</p><p>
  
    He’d had a stroke of genius, upon reading the newspaper for that day (yes, he reads the newspaper, he likes the crossword and the feeling of staring cashiers dead in the eye as he hands them coupons he’d cut out from one.)
  
</p><p>
 
    Working all day in his in-home lab was not a rare event, in fact it was <i>more</i> rare for him to spend less than a week at a time designing, building, testing, scrapping and rebuilding any one project over and over. But now he was sitting in front of a very broken, very <i>exploded</i> table, that was <i>supposed</i> to be as indestructible as any material could feasibly <i>be</i>.
</p><p><i>

    

...and would you look at that! It’s time for a lunch break!</i>
 
</p><p>
 
    Logan <i>can</i> cook, and he doesn’t really burn or ruin things, it just never really… tastes very pleasant. Bland, at best. Thankfully, he has a very sweet neighbor, who loves to cook and have guests over. Patton never fails to invite him over or lunch, or at least tea, every day. Considering he’s the only one who frequently accepts, or accepts at all, to his knowledge, he’s been over there many times - practically every day. Seeing as it’s only about one o’clock, he sends Patton a quick text, while he cleans up what he can and gets ready to take the maybe six steps it takes to cross the hall between their apartments.
</p><p>
  <i>
    "Logie-bear, come in, come in! You’ve been working, I see!”
 
</i></p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i><br/>    ever,</i> in any possible reality of existence, would Logan willingly let <i>anyone</i> call him that sort of nickname. Unless, of course, that person was Patton Mecking, who is the human personification of a golden labrador retriever, and is impossible to say no to unless you are a completely souless, sadistic monster with the ability to speak english as if you were even remotely human.</p><p>
  
    
      "Ah… yes. I apologize, I tried to wipe as much of the char and dust away as possible before I came over - I really needed a break from… unplanned molecular eruptions within a less than controlled environment.” 
    
 
</p><p>
  
    
      Patton stared at him blankly, but not in a rude way, like <i>some</i> people.
    
 
</p><p>
  
   
      "...big explosion I wasn’t trying to make,”
   
  
</p><p>
  
    
      "Oooohhhh. Well, I made cucumber sandwiches, come on- I even got the chessboard all set up, you can show me that one play you were talking about!”
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      Logan knows very well that Patton likely understood him the first time, but he won’t comment on it. If Patton likes people to see him that way, it really isn’t any of his business to disrupt the facade. 
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      About halfway into explaining his idea to implement elements of 3d chess into a regular game, he gets a call.
    
</p><p>
  
   
      From his cellphone, that he keeps on his person.
</p><p>
  His extremely <i>private,</i> personal phone who he has so far given the number to only one person, who is sitting right across from him.
</p><p>
  Logan answers, feeling a sense of indescribable dread.
</p>
<p>
 
      “Hello?”
    
  
</p><p>
  
      “Hello, is this Mr. Tebeau?"
    
 
</p><p>
 
      “...yes. Who is this?”
    
</p><p>
 
      "This is Dianna, calling from Mount Vernon high school, you’re listed as an emergency contact for Roman Kingsley. He’s fractured his arm during practice, and we need someone to come pick him up.”&lt;
    
</p><p>
  
    
      Logan begins to go through his mental list of family members with children in high school, but lets go of the idea almost immediately. He’s been ostracised from most of them for nearly ten years. Not to mention that he shouldn’t be <i>anyone’s</i> emergency contact, period. This has to be some sort of- 
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      Wait.
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      Kingsley. He knows that name from somewhere. <i>Where</i> has he seen that name before- 
    
  
</p><p>
 
      <i>A varsity jacket, thrown hastily to the ground in the heat of battle. He’d deduced that the Red Knight couldn’t be out of public education yet, so he’d decided to stake one of his heists in the middle of a school day, in hopes of avoiding the biggest threat to him showing up that day.
    </i></p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  
   
      Instead, he had run up and <i>thrown his backpack into Logan’s face.</i> Just as he was getting ready to throw something decidedly <i>not</i> petty back, the Knight had torn off his varsity letterman jacket and punched him. The jacket had had the name “Kingsley” printed across the back.
    
</p><p>
  
      Oh <i>hell no.
   
  
</i></p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  
      His nemesis had <i>not</i> somehow gotten ahold of his private number and listed him as an <i>emergency contact.
</i></p>
<p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
 
      “Your uncle is on his way, Roman. Though, just between you and me- I think he’s a little upset with you.”
    
</p><p>
 
      "Oh… yeah. I bet. He’s uh… a really busy guy, y’know? It’s kinda hard for him to get off work during the day…”
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      "I know how it is, dear, my mother was the same when I was a kid. Worked 3 jobs! Why, if I’d had the same kind of accident as you, I’d be walking home myself, rain or shine!”<br/>
Okay, so maybe Roman is an absolute fucking idiot.
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      To be fair, though, it’s <i>really</i> not his fault. You can’t exactly go around telling adults that you live alone when you can’t even take the test for your driver’s license yet. So he’d bullshitted his way into school, (because dammit, he needs <i>some</i> normalcy in his life) by pretending to be living with his uncle; it wouldn’t be very hard to piece together where his parents were, so it was that or nothing.
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      And, rather conveniently, during one of his fights with “Doctor Logic”, the guy had very <i>conveniently</i> dropped his phone, and Roman may have… just maybe… skimmed it for the villain’s number. Because he needed a valid number to submit, afterall… and you know, Doctor Logic has never really done anything more than tie him up or knock him out with one of those strange devices; in fact, Roman would say that he tried very hard <i>not</i> to kill him, unlike many other villains he had tussled with. And really, that was the closest he had to “friendship” these days. He’d never really thought there would be a time when someone needed to actually <i>call the number.</i>&lt;
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      ...and now his arch nemesis is coming to pick him up from school, when he has no mask, and his left arm is in a sling.
    
  
</p><p>
 
      <i>This should be fun… </i>
    
 
</p><p>
  
    
      "Salutations… I’m here to pick up Roman?”
   
 
</p><p>
  
    
      “Just through that door on your left, hun.”
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      "Thank you.”
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      Roman has no idea what he had expected. Every other time he’d met Doctor Logic, the villain had worn a mask, one completely devoid of features or any decoration. The only way he knew anything about him was a few clipped conversations in between blows- “who are you” and “why are you doing this” and all that.
   
  
</p><p>
  
    
      But this… this was not at all what he’d thought might show up through that door.
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      This was just a regular dude. Kinda tall, brown hair, and plain black glasses. Though he was wearing a button down and slacks, with a <i>fucking necktie,</i> which was absolutely hilarious, for some reason.
</p><p>
“Uh… hey… uncle..”
    
  
</p><p>
      Doctor Logic raised one eyebrow (holy shit people can actually do that? He needs to learn how to do that-) but didn’t say anything, for a minute.
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      Well? Are we leaving, or are you just going to sit there and imitate a large-mouthed bass?”
    
  
</p><p>
  
    
      “Right, yeah! We are… going.”
    
 
</p><p>
 
. . .
</p><p>
Logan already knew mostly what the Red Knight looked like, because his mask barely covered half of his face- a masquerade mask. Bright red and sparkly, like the rest of its matching costume
</p><p>
But for some reason, seeing the Red Knight like this, no mask, no suit, no loud and silly quips about how what he was doing was wrong and destructive- it was… odd. He’d never really noticed just how… young his adversary looked. Sure, he knew, logically, about how old the Knight was. Logically, <i>objectively,</i> he knew. This… this sensation, heavy and suffocating in his chest, remembering how his <i>nemesis</i> had been forced to call upon him for help like this… what he was feeling in this moment was not logical.
</p><p>
“Well? Are we leaving, or are you just going to sit there and imitate a large-mouthed bass?” He says, because he cannot be <i>sincere,</i> dammit, that will get them all killed.
</p><p>
 “Right, yeah! We are… going."
</p><p>
And when it isn’t used to shout and scream, to detest him and fight back, the Knight’s voice really doesn’t sound as assertive, as powerful, as he knows the Red Knight is. This is just Roman Kingsley. A child, who is likely very afraid right now.
   
</p><p>
 Somehow that’s harder to listen to.&lt;
    
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. I don't have a phd, actually</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Where do you live?”</p><p>“...what?”</p><p>Logan sighed. “Where do you live? Or where would you like me to drop you off, if you’re uncomfortable sharing that information. I would not blame you.”</p><p>“Oh. Right. Uhm… The hospital, actually. The nurse didn’t really do much more than tie up my arm and give me a temporary sling.”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>He would have been content to leave it at that, but as usual, Logan had a bit more forethought than that.</p><p>“I’ll have to sign you in, I suppose. Clearly your parents won’t be able to, if they couldn’t pick you up from school.”</p><p>“Yeah…”</p><p>This was going to be a very long day, wasn’t it? Especially because he knows the second he gets home he won’t be able to put off fixing that table any more. He always feels oddly compelled to finish a project as soon as humanly possible - he cannot just go to bed knowing there is a problem like that, just <i>sitting</i> there.</p><p>“You know, somehow your villain name suits you. Doctor Logic… very nerdy.”</p><p>Logan cannot express the amount of rage that he always feels when he hears that name.</p><p>“It is Logic. <b>Just Logic.</b> I do not know where that “doctor” nonsense came from, I never even <i>went</i> to college-”</p><p>“Jeez, chill out! Okay, just Logic, then. What about your real name…? I mean, you already know what mine is, AND where I go to school, I think it’s only fair, I already know your last name-"</p><p>"Logan. For Newton's sake, stop babbling, it's <i>Logan.</i>"</p><p>"Logan Tebeau. Nice. Well, it's uh… good to meet you, Logan. Out of costume, I mean."</p><p>"I should hope so. I aspire to be as unpleasant as possible when I'm in the mask."</p><p>"Yeah, you sure do - I mean, a frickin <i>Death Ray,</i> dude?!? That was epic, not going to lie, but you could have <i>actually killed people!</i>"</p><p>“Ah yes, and the supervillain should be <i>very</i> worried about that.”</p><p>...Why is this so… so easy? To talk casually with his <i>nemesis,</i> who is sitting <i>in his car! With a broken arm!</i> There were over a dozen things he should be doing right now, and one of them involve driving the Red Knight to the hospital, checking him in like, like someone who actually <i>cares</i> about him- </p><p>But. <i>But…</i> This <i>isn’t</i> the Red Knight. This is Roman Kingsley, an injured teenager who- who has Logan listed as an emergency contact. The only emergency contact that could be reached in a time of need, evidently.</p><p>Right. They aren’t Logic and the Red Knight, right now. They aren’t enemies who are fighting to keep one another in check, this isn’t some… some battle that needs to be won. This is Logan, helping a goddamned <i>child</i> get to the hospital. A child who is essentially a stranger, and really shouldn’t need to ask another stranger, one who has done him harm, for help.</p><p>“...yeah. I guess not. You haven’t killed anyone, though. Bruised and seriously beaten, but nothing permanent. Some supervillain.”</p><p>“And you’ve yet to capture me. There have been plenty of times where I misstepped, or where you got the drop on me, somehow - and I’ve never been placed in cuffs. Haven’t seen a single day inside a jail cell. At least, not as a villain, anyways.”</p><p>“I guess not. Some supers we are, huh? Can’t make anything out of our gifts.”</p><p>“I’m not boosted.”</p><p>“...what? No way!”</p><p>“Yes, way. It’s a stupid risk to take. I’m surprised they allowed someone your age to get boosted.”</p><p>“...I didn’t exactly get permission from anyone.”</p><p>That was… well, Logan had considered the possibility. He knows that a lot of the younger supers don’t get their boost legally, mostly due to the amount of money required to do so. But for some reason, seeing that customized jacket, and the fact that Roman didn’t look like he lived rough (he looked pampered, if anything) he’d assumed that he’d done it that way. The government was always happy to get willing participants for the operation, so that more study could be done. It’s estimated that less than 2 percent of the population is boosted, afterall. </p><p>“And how well have you hidden your new powers from those close to you, then? I know you’ve skipped school to fight me.”</p><p>“Why do you care? That really isn’t your business.”</p><p>“...No. I suppose it’s not.”</p><p>Why does he care, indeed. Logan doesn’t discuss anything so personal even with Patton, and that’s the only person he’s been remotely close to in… a very long time. He keeps driving.</p><p>. . .</p><p>The hospital trip really isn’t much to remember. Roman didn’t even seem very bothered by his arm at all to begin with. The wait was quite a while, considering they weren’t an urgent case, but the process of getting an x-ray and having a cast put over Roman’s arm was actually quite simple. Logan hasn’t really had more than a few minor fractures himself, (all at Roman’s hands) so he isn’t entirely sure what level of pain Roman should be feeling, but him looking completely impassive no matter the amount of poking and prodding being done to his arm is making him wonder if Roman has some sort of healing factor. It would explain some of his durability. </p><p>The doctor tells them that the cast will be taken off in six weeks at the most, and four if they are lucky. They are given some general information about how to clean and maintain the cast, and to not put it under water, nothing major, really.</p><p>When they exit, Logan surprises himself by offering Roman a ride to somewhere at least closer to his home, and to trade contacts for when Roman needs the cast taken off. </p><p>“Afterall, it’s only fair. You already have my number.”</p><p>Roman actually <i>laughs</i> at that, and agrees.</p><p>“Eh, screw it, you can just take me home. It’s not like you’d really break in.”</p><p>He is proud of himself for having mastered the skill of raising just one eyebrow. It’s a rather handy expression.</p><p>“I think you may be underestimating me.”</p><p>“I’m not underestimating your ability to break into my house, I just don’t think home invasion is really your style.”</p><p>“I suppose that is fair.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman doesn’t really feel any different, upon getting home. Logan drops him off on the sidewalk, and they part ways, now with each other’s numbers. Which is still pretty crazy, to him. He has the personal number of a well known <i>supervillain</i> saved on his phone. And said villain also has <i>his</i>, and now knows where he lives.</p><p>It’s not like Roman was lying, earlier. He really doesn’t think Logan would try to break into his home, and he doesn’t seem like he’d care what Roman keeps on his phone, if he tried to like… hack it, or something. Can he even do that? Probably. Though all he’s got on there that’s worth anything is some contacts to people Logan likely doesn’t know and a very impressive high score on subway surfers.</p><p>Stepping inside, it doesn’t look like very much. It’s a well-furnished, two-story home that doesn’t have any specific genre in its decoration. Just whatever he thought would look good in each area, really. Virgil said that the place had a cozy vibe, which makes sense- mostly warm colors, and it looks like it was made for a family. He tried his best for it to seem that way, anyways. Big couch, lots of food in the kitchen at any time, all three bedrooms had their own unique styles... Well, his and Virgil’s rooms had personality, the guest room just looked like… well, a guest room. Pretty, but uncomfortable in the sense that you’d feel bad for messing up the sheets or touching the stuff on the shelves.</p><p>Downstairs in the basement was where all the activity was. The only thing anyone would come up here for was the food or the stash of movies in the living room, so he wasn’t surprised to see all of the lights off despite it being barely 6pm. </p><p>Kicking off his shoes and walking downstairs, he found that Virgil had invited the whole gang over; Nate, Remy, and Thomas were all playing games or, in Nate’s case, going through the minibar. That’s where all the good snacks and drinks were, and where Remy stashed what little booze he could swipe there as well. </p><p>“Heeeeey, man of the house is back, bitches!”</p><p>“Hi guys! Sorry I was out so long.”</p><p>“Dude, where did you go? You said you were being sent home, but who’d you even get to pick you up? We were worried as fuck!”</p><p>Nate took a moment to butt in between shoving chips in his mouth: “Correction, Virgil was worried as fuck, the rest of us know your boosted ass can take care of yourself.”</p><p>“Look, I’m sorry, but a broken arm is a little hard to bullshit your way out of at the nurse. I… called a friend to pick me up- he’s basically old enough to be my dad, so I have him listed as my guardian and emergency contact.”</p><p>“Babe, we know you don’t have friends besides us, who’d you call?”</p><p>“Guys, Ro’s back home now and he’s okay, if he doesn’t wanna spill we should just leave it.”</p><p>“<i>Thank you,</i> Thomathy! The only other reasonable person in this house!”</p><p>“<b>Other</b> reasonable person? Bitch sense when is Mr. “I’m gonna go play superpower russian roulette and not tell my friends first because I’m feeling depressed” a <i>reasonable</i> person?”</p><p>“Oh <i>that’s</i> it, come here, I will fight you even with my arm in a cast!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Domestic interest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan didn’t actually end up “fixing” the table; he scrapped it entirely and resolved to another one that <i>would</i> hold up to his standards. Perhaps he’d simply used the wrong materials… he could probably create a stronger metal over the weekend, if he resupplied a little first. After that, it was just a matter of decontaminating the area of the explosion, and a little maintenance to the nearby… everything.</p><p>He’s surprised he wasn’t injured more severely in the blast, but he wears a plated coat for a reason. Honestly, his goggles would work much better if he didn’t have to wear his glasses beneath them, but a blind scientist is a <i>very dangerous</i> scientist, and his eyes react poorly to contacts. Ah… how nice it must be to be born naturally with vision that does not require correction through man-made instruments...</p><p>Well, there’s no use in dwelling on such things. He has a job to get to, afterall. Really, it was quite handy to have a small “family-owned” store as a front, when he’d found just about the most bribable health code and building inspectors in the city beforehand. The supposed bakery was a place for other villains and even petty criminals with enough money or incredibly interesting materials to “place an order” for him. He was typically asked for either the schematics of something they could build themselves, or for him to build something for them with provided blueprints and materials. The shop did also sell cakes and similar crafts, the trick was to order a “red velvet chiffon cake courtesy of the owner. He said to put it on his tab.”</p><p>To be honest, he’d never really intended to actually do something like this, but after a while his services became so profitable and frequently requested that it was dangerous to keep sending messages via channels that could only be so safe for so long. Buying the empty building hadn’t been very hard, and when he’d thought it out for a while, this just made sense. Doesn’t mean that it isn’t really his style, though. So he hired someone else to take care of the place.</p><p>Nathan Malonee was only seventeen, sure, but showed an impeccable potential in business management; and with two or three professional bakers to actually handle the food, all the kid had to do was balance the checks and call him whenever they received an order to be placed on the owner’s tab. It was rather amusing, to watch Nathan’s facial expression when they applied to be a cashier, and walked out the manager.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Patton’s apartment is very cozy, and Logan finds himself spending more and more time there, lately. Any time he isn’t working, he’s with Patton. They play board games, watch movies, attempt to make Creme Brulee because Logan has a blowtorch and Patton knows how to <i>use</i> it… that night did not end in the apartment building going down in flames, at least, which was… good. Though they live on the thirtieth and uppermost floor, so really only the other two luxury apartments would be in immediate danger.</p><p>The great thing about these apartments is that they are two stories, (at least the top five floors of them are) so when he occasionally invited Patton to his place for a change, he only has to see the lower floor, which is rather plain. It only contains all of the regular  rooms that aren’t his laboratory, which is reserved for illegal activities. Well, to be fair, there <i>is</i> a second, nicer bathroom upstairs as well, but Patton would have no reason to visit it while over.</p><p>“Logan, your couch is so <i>squishy!</i>”</p><p>...Especially since he was currently occupied with his supposedly “squishy” and “soft” furniture. He wouldn’t really know, he cannot remember the last time having sat on his couch or any of his downstairs chairs for any considerable length of time since he bought them.</p><p>“That’s nice. What would you like to do for now? The Doctor Who marathon doesn’t air for another forty minutes.”</p><p>“I dunno! We could organize a snack plate, get some blankets out… you know, make everything comfy first?”</p><p>“That sounds practical.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds practical? I thought the leather on this couch made more of a squeaky noise…”</p><p>The sound of utter despair from Logan was not at all subtle.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan doesn't often act irrationally. He likes to take the time to think his actions through before agreeing to any one plan, as everyone should. Of course, he knows that many people do not do this, but rather act upon their impulses, whatever option just "seems right" at first glance.</p><p>But when Patton began to slump against him, and stop commenting as much as he had been - a clear sign that he was falling asleep - his first thought had been to try and get Patton home first, and into his own bed. That was his <i>first</i> thought, anyway.</p><p>His second thought was that Patton's hair was very soft, when he rather <i>irrationally</i> chose to embrace this turn position instead. And the weight of him at Logan's side was very comforting, and it was overall just rather pleasing to be close in this way. So he did not move, even when the marathon on tv had ended. Rather, Logan let sleep come to him, as sleeping in this position would be preferable to accidentally waking Patton up by moving.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman hates waking up early, but at the same time finds it very peaceful. He just can’t function very early in the day, because he stays up so late, but something about waking up first to find all of his friends sleeping in varied awkward arrangements around him… was nice. Because here, in this house, and with him, he knows that they are safe. There almost isn’t a safer place in the city to be, really, when he regularly goes head-to-head with one of the most infamous supervillains in the area. Even if his dominant arm is indisposed for about a month...</p><p>It’s not like he’s going to be stupid and try to follow them around all the time or try to hold them back for their safety - they’d never let him, anyways. But they are also all he’s got, and inviting them over for weekends and holidays is pretty much a habit, even when he knows they have other plans. </p><p>To Roman’s right, Thomas stirs and throws an arm over Virgil’s face. Vee doesn’t even wake up, but somehow makes a very offended squawk anyway. The sound <i>does</i> wake up Nate though, who manages to steal half of the couch last night - Remy got the other half.</p><p>“Shut up, god, what <i>time</i> is it?”</p><p>Roman can’t help the bark of laughter that he makes when he hears that, which in retrospect probably wouldn’t help the situation.</p><p>Virgil would agree, apparently, because the next thing he knew, Roman was being beaten with a pillow. Which was fair, to be honest.</p><p>“Everyone shut up! There’s no way it’s even 10am yet so all of you need to <i>shut up!</i>”</p><p>“Babe, To be fair, <i>you</i> are the one who’s yelling, which is interrupting my beauty sleep. You might actually make me go upstairs and steal Roman’s bed.”</p><p>“Wh- why <i>my</i> bed?!”</p><p>“Uhh, because it’s probably the nicest one in the house? And your room doesn’t scare the crap out of me.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>It wasn’t more than an hour before they were all up, after that. Thomas insisted that if they were going to be up a decent time, they should make a good breakfast - Roman countered that he could order grubhub or something, but was outvoted.</p><p>“C’mon, you have to learn how to cook eventually, Ro! Me and Nate won’t be doing it forever.”</p><p>“...What if I hired you to?”</p><p>Everyone found that much more amusing than Roman thought they should. He <i>does</i> love to learn new skills and it would be nice to know what the point of paprika was, but he has a lot of other stuff to worry about, you know! Like saving the city from Logic! (Wow, he needs to tell Logan to get a better supervillain name, because that sentence sounded <i>too</i> weird.)</p><p>But if the price for waking up at 9am was being bullied to learning how to flip a pancake, then there were worse ways to start the day.</p><p>...Okay, so maaaayyybe he tried to flip a pancake by tossing the pan instead of using a spatula, which ended up with a half-cooked pancake on his ceiling. He could get it down later… probably. He knows he can jump that high, but the problem would be doing so without accidentally going through the floorboards of the second floor… eh, he has a ladder somewhere, surely. Or at least a stepstool.<br/>
Besides that, breakfast is a fairly normal event. There isn’t a lot of good television on at this time of day, so Thomas found his dvd of Steven Universe: The Movie and put it on.</p><p>They were in the middle of singing along to “here we are in the future” when Roman got a text that suddenly made the morning seem a little less grand.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Anny&lt;<br/>
6pm. You know where.</b>
</p><p>Knowing it wouldn’t do him any good to respond late or pretend that he hadn’t seen it, Roman set his plate aside and sent a message back. </p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Yep. Want me to wear the suit?</b>
</p><p>He knows the answer to that, but it’s good to hope…</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Anny&lt;<br/>
Duh. I’m paying for the knight, not you.</b>
</p><p>. . .</p><p>He likes to meet fans of his, really! And Anny is a really big fan, (at least that’s what she says…) who just happens to know his secret identity. She was super nice about it, or at least as nice as people who are blackmailing you are. Is this even blackmail, if she’s paying him for it?</p><p>Whatever. All she asks is that he shows up when she asks him to, in the hero suit, to meet her friends and sign autographs and whatnot. And in return, she makes his life a lot more comfortable than it used to be, as well as keeping his secret identity under wraps. The only problem right now is his arm, but if he fits a brace under his gloves, he can still write with it. Really, it doesn’t even hurt, it’s just hard to move.</p><p>He’ll figure it out.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman arrives at the building at 5:45, which should be more than enough time to get up to the penthouse by 6. He knows his way around the place pretty well by now, and he’s barely checked by Anny’s security. Who’d want to frisk a superhero, afterall? And it’s not like he’d have any reason to cause trouble. This is basically just his second job.</p><p>...Anny doesn't really look like some who blackmails people on a daily basis, but then again, most people who do bad things try very hard not to look like such. Like Logan.</p><p>She's just a regular looking teenager, for the most part, though it's easy enough to tell that she's a spoiled brat once you meet her- always gets what she wants, and has since the day she was born. He tries to believe that money isn't what makes a person evil, because that would make him wonder about his own future. Could he ever look someone dead in the eye and tell them that their life doesn't matter, because they're being paid to do things for him?</p><p>He shakes his head, like that will physically clear the thoughts from his mind. Like some weird etch-a-sketch. This isn't the time for Roman's thoughts on the matter, Right now he has to be the Red Knight. Right now, he has to be charming and brave and cool, because that's what a hero is.</p><p>That's what he's here to be.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan has seldom woken up somewhere that wasn't in the middle of his laboratory, or even slumped over his coffee table. So when he awakes to find himself laying on a couch, staring up at the ceiling, it takes him a moment to remeber why he's there. </p><p>And when he does, he cannot lie to himself and say that he doesn't feel a bit embarrassed. Really, only Patton could make him fall asleep before the end of a Doctor Who marathon.</p><p>Which makes him start, wondering <i>where the hell is Patton?</i> Did he go back to his own apartment? What time is it? How did he not-</p><p>"Well good morning, sleepyhead! I don't know how early you usually wake up, but if you want to now, I have a plate saved for you in the microwave! Hope you don't mind, I used some of your pans and stuff-"</p><p>"It... It's fine, Patton. I'll eat in a bit. When did you wake up?"</p><p>"Hmm? Oh, let's see... if it's 10am now... about 2 hours ago? I didn't wanna wake you up, because you always look so tired..."</p><p>“I see…” </p><p>10am? Well that’s not too bad. He’s certainly woken up later than that, though he’s usually up earlier.</p><p>Well, for now he should probably go put these blankets and pillows away… then he can get to breakfast… and figure out what to do with the rest of his day, at some point.</p><p>. . .</p><p>“And here he is, the hero you’ve all been waiting for! I told you I knew him, Eugene!”</p><p>“Holy shit- wait, how do we know it’s the real deal? Lord knows you could pay anyone to dress up however you wanted to!”</p><p>Roman sighs very loudly, (on the inside) because he knows exactly what comes next.</p><p>“Well, I can think of a way… why don’t we have him show off his power? It’s so rare for supers to get something so… flashy.”</p><p>It’s not even that his powers are draining or anything, because they aren’t. Unless he really pushes them, anyway. What has him so exasperated is that he’s being shown off like some… neat little toy. Something shiny that’s only fun because you own it, and can tell other people all about it.</p><p>Still, he takes the not-so-subtle command in stride, and shows off a simple barrier. That’s what he uses it for, most of the time. There’s some scattered oos and cheers, some applause and a call for more. This time, he forms the glittering red into the shape of a longsword- another one of his favorites. It isn’t actually sharp, unless he’s trying to cut through something, but otherwise it’s more of a blunt weapon. Wouldn’t want to accidentally cut someone, afterall.</p><p>Someone- Eugene, if he recalls right- asks if they can hold it.</p><p>“Well… I suppose. But be careful, I’ve been told the material is pretty hot to the touch for other people.”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, just hand it over.”</p><p>They take the sword, and to their credit, only flinch a little at the first touch. Roman’s held his creations without gloves before, and while he does feel a vague warmth, it’s never hurt. He’s only found out that it could burn when he’d first hit someone with his light. He’d heard the sizzle against fabric, thankfully he tends to aim for center-mass… though other times it’s been just fine. Sometimes it’s hot and burns, other times it’s like “holding a plate you just took out of the microwave.” Virgil says that this is probably just another part of his power, and he should try to figure it out. Roman is mostly content to just leave it be…</p><p>Eugene swings the sword around a few times, and even pokes Roman square in the chest with it at one point, all while making weird sound effects. None of them sound like a sword, because swords don’t really make noise unless you hit them against another metal surface, but no one stops them. </p><p>Soon everybody is asking for their own sword, so Roman obliges. There’s only seven or eight of them, anyway. Some are more comfortable with holding the creations than others, and Anny herself drops the sword he hands her on the spot - making it shatter into shards of light, and then nothing at all. She’s angry, he can tell, but she tends to save outbursts for when her friends leave. </p><p>Eventually the little show is over, and everyone asks him to sign various things. He’d practiced earlier, writing with his arm in the brace, and knows he can do it. If the signatures look sloppy at all, no one notices.</p><p>Around 9pm, Anny and her friends sorta forget about him and just hang around, talking amongst themselves. So Roman takes a seat near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and stares into the night sky. The sun had set a while ago, so outside is just a dark sky full of lights from the city. He wants to leave, but even if he isn’t the center of attention anymore, he’ll only be allowed to leave after everyone else has. That’s just how it is. He can see his reflection in the glass, and is glad he chose his more “formal” face mask. The simple opera mask he wears in battle isn't really meant to cover his face, because he’s constantly moving - there’s little chance of someone getting a good photo then. But when he visits Anny and whoever she’s with at the time, he has a mask that resembles the tartaglia design that conceals much more.</p><p>He almost doesn’t realize that someone has approached him. He doesn’t remember her name, exactly, but he’s fairly certain it starts with an M… </p><p>“You know, you seem a little young to be a superhero.”</p><p>“...I suppose I am. But I don’t believe there’s an age requirement for heroism.”</p><p>She laughs. “Guess not. I mean, you’ve probably caught more villains than the police have, and you’re the closest anyone’s gotten to defeating Doctor Logic.”</p><p>“It’s just Logic, actually.”</p><p>“...what?”</p><p>“Yeah, when he debuted he just called himself Logic. Someone called him Doctor Logic at some point and it stuck, but he’s actually just Logic.”</p><p>“...I see. You would know that, wouldn’t you?”</p><p>“I’m not sure what you mean.”</p><p>“I mean, you yourself have called him Doctor Logic a bunch of times. I assume he told you, because villains tend to get pissy about their appearance like that.”</p><p>“Oh! Yeah.”</p><p>Again, she laughs. Roman wonders if it’s at him, or what he said.</p><p>“Sorry- we don’t even know each other. I honestly thought I’d be too terrified to speak to you at all, but you seem a lot more… human, up close.”</p><p>“...Do I not normally seem human?”</p><p>“Well, I just meant like… you’re a super. A boost. And a celebrity one, at that. You had to have expected some hero worship.”</p><p>Roman only thinks that one of those things should make someone nervous to approach him, but he doesn’t say so.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess I should have, haha… It’s just hard to see myself that way, you know? To me I’m always a person. A really lucky person, but still.”</p><p>“Of course. I’m Mandy, by the way. Not that I expect you to remember that or anything but hopefully the blue hair helps a little.”</p><p>“A little hard to forget meeting a literal mermaid-” That was so stupid, why did he say that, yeah her hair is definitely mermaid hair, but he shouldn’t <i>say</i> that-</p><p>Mandy seems amused, rather than upset, so he decides to just worry about it later.</p><p>“Yep! It was pink before this, I just like bright colors I guess- anyway, it was nice to meet you, Red Knight. I’m leaving now, but I hope we’ll see each other again sometime.”</p><p>“...me too, Mandy. Have a good night.”</p><p>And with that, there’s one less person in the room. Roman <i>Really</i> wants to go home soon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Cast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan has a headache. The kind that comes from sitting in a room whilst unaware of a nearby chemical spill for several minutes. After heavily disinfecting his workstation and disposing of the spilled substance about as safely as he cared to at the moment, he decided a walk would do him some good. Failing that, he would need to call the local poison control center, but he really doesn’t think that will be necessary.</p><p>And while he’s walking, he finds himself in front of The Dusted Maple, his bakery. He can’t remember where he got the name from, but he cannot help but feel that it really suits the interior design, somehow.</p><p>He steps inside, and suddenly realizes that he would rather enjoy some thumbprint cookies right about now.</p><p>Logan can tell that Nathan is surprised to see him, but hides it well. It’s not like he visits the shop in person very much, or at all, really. He’s never had a reason too, and he would prefer to keep it that way most of the time. But today he isn’t appearing as the owner, he is a customer, and not as some sort of test or inspection - he just wants some damn cookies.<br/>
Nathan respects this when he tells them so, and just brings him his order without much comment. </p><p>The shop is holding up well, though. It would be hard not to notice, seeing as it takes him a solid minute to spot an unoccupied table. Of course, he knew that The Dusted Maple was doing well financially, with very little support from his own personal funds. He’d just never really been able to picture how the numbers would translate to physical appearance and popularity. People of all ages gathered, some small families, others couples or small groups of friends. There wasn’t much room for anyone to sit alone, save for a few single person tables; one of which he’d just taken for himself.</p><p>After a few minutes of just relaxing and trying to replace the scent of chlorine in his nose with that of chocolate and bread, he overheard another customer ordering at the register.</p><p>“Ah, yes- I’d like a red-velvet chiffon cake. I know the owner, he says he’ll pay for it.”</p><p>Nathan writes the order down, and gives Logan a pointed look. He nods, to confirm that he heard, and there was no need for further confirmation. The person who’d just ordered noticed, obviously, and looked at Logan questioningly. Grabbing a pen from his pocket and a napkin, he drew a clumsy approximation of a brain wearing glasses - his symbol, but not one adversized outside of the underworld. The lackey - because really,  they did not carry themselves at all like someone with true authority - nodded at him with a conspiritory grin. </p><p>After receiving their boxed treat (yes, the transaction <i>did</i> involve a real cake,) they came to Logan's table, pulling up a spare chare to the opposite side of him.</p><p>“So you’re him, then? The… owner of this place?”</p><p>“I am.”</p><p>“Great! Walliums ain’t asking much, you know. We’re sending you an email with the details soon, and you can give us an estimate.”</p><p>Well, they aren’t a total idiot, at least. The wording was vague enough to not mean much to anyone who isn’t a criminal. Walliums would be River Walliums, a super with supposed hypnotic powers. Logan’s dealt with her before, but doesn’t know what she looks like. Though he understands her personality well enough to know that “not asking much” means that the job won’t be difficult, but will likely be tedious. River likes to mass-produce small gadgets to turn around and sell for as jacked-up a price she can manage.</p><p>“I’ll be waiting, then. You should go enjoy your cake.”</p><p>“ ‘Course. Be seeing you, then.”</p><p>Logan left not too long after that. The schematics would probably already be in his inbox by the time he was back home. Time to get to work.</p><p>. . .</p><p>The design for the device Walliums had sent him <i>was</i> fairly simple, but she wanted 350 of them, which would take him the better part of a week to accomplish. He told her as much, as well as his general estimate of the labor costs, as well as the price for some more complex materials she couldn’t send him. The agreement was made, and he began work on it the moment he received the crates of metal and wire from some more of her lackeys. It was an emitter type shock wave that River wanted to produce - simple, effective, and easy to conceal until you needed it. The end product almost looked like a sonic screwdriver, which amused and excited Logan to no end.</p><p>He tested it himself several times, until the device could produce 60,000 volts consistently and effectively in a 20 foot radius. The point was to stun a small gathering of opponents, it wasn’t meant to be particularly lethal or complicated, and he made twenty of them before the sun had set. He kept working into the night and over the next three days he’d completed and packaged just over a hundred and fifty. He began to wonder why he’d been commissioned for something so simple, but it isn’t his business what others believe he’s capable of, as long as he gets paid in the end.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman is getting really sick of the cast on his arm. He’d gotten away with hiding under his gloves so far, but punching criminals in the face had become decidedly more difficult. Because he wants it to heal all the way, and not have to get it fixed again or anything, but he always instinctively goes for a left hook. It’s just his good punching hand, is all.</p><p>But he can deal. It’s only another week until he can take it off now, and thankfully Logic has stayed off-radar for the time being. Whether that was because he’s up to something, or because he’s aware of Roman’s injury, he has no idea. He hopes it’s the latter, but knows the former is more likely.</p><p>Besides all of that, he is getting pretty damn tired of fire-based attacks. A new up-and coming villain of sorts <i>really</i> enjoys throwing fire at him, for some reason, even when it doesn’t do much in the face of his barriers. Today was a bit different, though. It felt like they were purposefully trying to get close to him, when their primary fighting style seemed to be more long-ranged. Which was good for him, because he fights in close-quarters, but it did make him suspicious. After a few minutes of this, the villain (firebird? Sounds about right) had managed to get nearly close enough to touch him, but suddenly stopped and pulled out a… glowy… stick… thing. He knows that it probably is more dangerous than it looks, and he’s about to jump away, when suddenly there’s a feeling like tv static all around him.</p><p>It feels like a tingly wave of ice going right through him, and he can’t move for a moment. But then the feeling passes, and the firebird looks too shocked and disgruntled to react. He punches them in the face, and they don’t get back up before he can tie them up with a rope of his light. The cops were already there, but he wants to know what they did to him.</p><p>“What was that weird staticy thing you just did to me? You know, if you’re up for conversation and all.”</p><p>The firebird spits at him, but answers eventually.</p><p>“Resistance to electricity too? Damn, I knew you were a tough nut to break, but I didn’t know you’d won the fucking double jeopordy when you got your boost!”</p><p>“...What? Did you try to shock me? Is that what that was?”</p><p>“60,000 volts, guaranteed. If you’ve never been tased before, that’s about what it’d feel like.”</p><p>Staring down at the villain, Roman doesn’t know what to make of that. He’d never been exposed to electricity before, so he wouldn’t know. But he makes sure to tell the officer about the supposed shock device, and what it looks like. The one the firebird had had gone missing, at some point. They probably dropped or hid it, so he gives his best description of what it looked like as well. </p><p>. . . </p><p>Getting home was nice, but knowing that he had school tomorrow, and couldn’t even participate in football practice because of his arm, was disheartening. On the other hand, Virgil had put a  frozen stuffed-crust pizza in the oven, which was <i>awesome</i>.</p><p>“You know, it’s times like this when I remember why you live here.”</p><p>“I live here because we’ve been friends since diapers, dumbass.”</p><p>“Oh, right. That too.”</p><p>“Do you <i>want</i> me to hit you? Because those are fighting words, princey.”</p><p>“For the last time, I am a <i>Knight!</i>”</p><p>“...who dresses like a dollar-store prince.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>When they don’t have other people over, Roman and Virgil tend to sleep in their own rooms or the above-ground couch, just because the basement feels a little empty with just the two of them in it. Tonight was a couch night, evidently, because Virgil had unfolded it (yes, it’s technically a “futon” but calling it that makes it feel much more pathetic in his opinion) and brought down some pillows.  </p><p>Sometime he wonders what the difference between him and the Red Knight really is. Besides the whole “hero vs regular civilian” part, anyway. He tries to discern a more meaningful difference than that, because the idea of being both at once, all the time, is… upsetting, for some reason. </p><p>The Red Knight doesn’t have Virgil, or Nate, or Remy or Thomas or a comfortable home, he’s just the Knight. Just a hero, who appears to fight evil and then promptly disappears until he’s needed again. Roman goes to school, and comes home to a sort-of family, and doesn’t just disappear at the end of the day. Roman is more real than the Red Knight, and being able to switch between the two identities is very comforting.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Tomorrow is when Roman is scheduled to have his cast removed, and Logan finds himself oddly… nervous at the prospect. The idea of just showing up at Roman’s home, a place where he technically wasn’t invited, felt odd. Thinking of that house as the property of his nemesis, the Red Knight, was even more bizarre, so he tries to ignore those thoughts.</p><p>For whatever reason, he takes the time to make sure the inside of his car is clean, (it always is) that night, and calls the hospital ahead of time to be absolutely sure that he has the time correct. He does, and it all just serves to put his worries into question further. </p><p>He tries to ask Patton why he would possibly feel this way, but finds that he can’t properly describe his exact relationship to Roman without giving away information that he swore not to reveal to him.</p><p>“Well… I dunno, Logie, but it sounds to me like you just care what he thinks about you, is all. If you two are constantly at odds, it makes sense that you wouldn’t want him to see you at anything but your best!</p><p>“Yes… I suppose that is accurate. He’s the only worthy adversary I’ve ever had in my... business.”</p><p>“Well I think you should try to be friends regardless, but I don’t really know anything about business and its competition…”</p><p>“I think… we are past the point of being able to make friends, Patton!”</p><p>“Well now that’s a load of hooey, there’s no such thing as being beyond friendship! Sorry about the language, but-”</p><p>“Patton, I hardly believe “hooey” counts as a swear word.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman really thinks that someone should tell Logan that neckties aren’t as cool as he seems to think they are, but it definitely isn’t going to be him who says it. Stepping once again into the compact car (he thinks it might be a prius, but he doesn’t know much about cars) Roman finds himself infinitely more this time. Maybe because he knew what to expect from Logan now. At least, he knows more than he knew about the infamous Doctor Logic.</p><p>“Logan, what kind of car is this? I know it’s a dumb question but I didn’t really see a logo anywhere…”</p><p>“Tesla prius, modeled to look like a 2019 Toyota.”</p><p>“Why wouldn’t you just… buy a Toyota prius?”</p><p>“Because the economy is in shambles, and gas prices are atrocious.” </p><p>...And that is the end of <i>that</i> conversation. Somehow it’s more depressing when an adult says it.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Actually getting his cast removed is somehow a lot simpler than he’d thought it would be. It feels nice, to finally have it free and have its full range of motion back. Once they’re outside, he gives the building an experimental punch, and finds everything in order. Though he left a small dent in the wall, and he tries to play it off like nothing just happened. He’s not even a registered super, why would he do something so <i>stupid,<i> they are in <i>public,</i> and it’s the middle of the damn day!</i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Logan said he’d drive Roman home as well, but honestly Roman doesn’t feel like going back there just yet. He has too much energy. So he asks if Logan’s house is on the way to anywhere fun.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I suppose that would depend on your definition of fun.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Uhh… something athletic? I sorta just want to run around and punch things but there’s no imminent threat to the city right now, sooooo…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Have you ever trained in a dojo?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What, you mean like for karate?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“A dojo is not just for the practice of karate, many forms of martial arts can be taught in one. I personally have been studying taekwondo.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Really?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Surely you’ve noticed I’m not completely pathetic in hand-to-hand combat, by now.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Well yeah, but I didn’t know you actually trained or anything.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Not everyone can be blessed with an impeccable fighting prowess before they are allowed to drink.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...I guess not…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What I am trying to say is, would you like to visit the dojo I am a part of, and perhaps you could find a worthy opponent there?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh- sure! I mean, don’t think for a second that I’m not gonna try and challenge you while we’re there!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I would expect nothing less.”</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Roman Denver; Regular Civilian</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Roman's back story!! Or, some of it. Yaaaaay!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roman’s approach to heroism so far has always sorta been “hit the bad guy, save the civilians.” Which, to be fair, works pretty well for him, but that doesn’t mean he wants to <i>tell</i> anyone that. But he doesn’t really have any better ideas. Afterall, he hadn’t been sure what he would do with his powers when he got boosted. He’d definitely wanted to help people, (help one person) but he hadn’t believed he could actually become a real <i>superhero</i>.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Supers, boosted people, super humans… whatever you call them, it’s all the same. The ability to give yourself superpowers, something previously reserved for fantasy, was now possible.</p><p>And Roman wants to become one.</p><p>He knows the risks, obviously. Knows that he could die, or walk away with a huge debt and no powers at all. But he wouldn’t really be losing much, at this point. It’s ridiculous, really. To be barely thirteen and have nowhere to go. Well… maybe it’s less ridiculous, and more just sad.</p><p>Virgil is there, and all of his friends, for that matter, but Virgil is the only one who can really relate. They’re in the same spot, afterall. Alone together. He wants to do this for Virgil. Because if he’s successful… surely a homeless super would have more options than a normal person, right? </p><p>He’s already found someone who can perform the operation on him, and she’s named her price. </p><p>River Walliums. She practically owns the underworld, or at least a very large and powerful portion of it, if rumors are to be believed. And anyone who’s someone in the world of criminals can do the boost surgery, or knows someone who can.</p><p>At first, Roman was fully expecting to be rejected. He had nothing to offer- at least, that’s what he thought.</p><p>River orders the construction of many devices and machines, mostly for her to sell back to whoever will pay enough. But to maintain her empire, she needs quite a bit of technology and muscle herself. </p><p>One year.</p><p>One year of him running errands and doing jobs for River Walliums. He’d be a criminal. He’d probably have to do a lot of things he would regret.</p><p>But they would boost him, and before he began his service, even! That just means that she’s confident he won’t be able to escape, no matter what power he gets. That should be much more frightening than it is, but somehow it’s not. He agreed almost dangerously fast. Though that seemed just to amuse River, somehow.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman feels <i>strong</i>. Stronger than he’s ever been. Powerful, even. He’d expected to feel awful, coming off of the anesthetics they’d given him - like how he’d felt when the laughing gas wore off at one of his only trips to the dentist, ever.</p><p>But instead, he’s doing <i>great!</i> Could have backflipped right off the operating table, if they’d let him. The 9he’s going to assume licensed) doctors told him to rest and take it easy, and when the time comes to just try and do what feels natural to draw the powers out. It might not be something immediately obvious, like increased endurance, or being able to see in the complete absence of light. He just has to wait.</p><p>. . .</p><p>No one told him how stupid “just doing what feels natural” would make him feel. For some reason he has this… gut feeling that his power would have something to do with his hands. Something… physical and bright. </p><p>He was right, at least. After a few hours of stupidly waving his arms around and trying to <i>push</i> on the bundle of energy in his chest,  he finally created… something. It looked like a small square of red… sparkly light. It felt both solid and weightless in his hands at the same time. Like it was definitely real, able to interact with and touch things, but also like it would take zero effort to move or bend. So that’s exactly what he tried to do - bend and fold it. The substance was warm to the touch, and bent as easily as tissue paper. Taking a sort of origami approach, Roman folded the square into a triangle, then again in the opposite direction, and surprised himself by eventually forming a little fortune-teller. </p><p>So it was definitely a flexible, and potentially <i>very</i> versatile. But is it strong? He knows it’s a horrible idea, but he asks a nearby doctor (one of the ones who’d boosted him, and was monitoring his progress) to punch him though it. He didn’t really look like he wanted to, but agreed for “testing purposes.” He couldn’t punch through it, in fact as soon as it was met with resistance, the now fully unfolded, napkin-sized tissue went rigid and refused to budge. The doctor’s large gloves (Roman had thought they looked much more like they were for gardening than any sort of medical work) sizzled, and they quickly jumped apart. Every point of contact the glove had made with the barrier was gone, the edges of the hole left behind still crackling a little.</p><p>“Woah! You okay?”</p><p>“I am… fine. It just feels like I touched a hot pan for a moment…”<br/>
“...If you’re sure. Sorry, though. It didn’t hurt me at all, so I didn’t think…”</p><p>“It’s alright. I’m paid well for these sorts of things. You just worry about developing your ability before Miss Walliums actually puts you to work, and you won’t have the time to.”</p><p>Roman nodded. He could do this. He just needs to put in the effort, and everything will be fine.</p><p>. . .</p><p>After another week of practicing and trying to brush off Virgil’s concerns about where he goes every night,  Roman’s fairly sure he’s got a good handle on everything. He’s going on his first little mission for River tonight, which should be… exciting, if nothing else… </p><p>And he’s gotten pretty good with his power - he can force the solid light into any shape he wants, and he’s getting faster at it, even while running or jumping. Someone had suggested that he train while moving, but he can’t remember who, now that he thinks about it.</p><p>All River said was that he’d be working with two of her other “employees” to go on a run. A run for what, he isn’t sure, but he knows he’ll have to carry a bunch of stuff and leave fast. Marlow and Eise were <i>especially</i> about the ‘fast’ part.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Standing just outside a large, securely guarded warehouse, Roman finds himself regretting every single decision he’s ever made that even slightly lead up to this moment. They were breaking into somewhere obviously owned by someone very rich or very powerful, and neither were very pleasant options. What are they even here to get!? He feels like an idiot for not realizing that this would be some kind of heist earlier, but now he just wants to do whatever he can to get out of here as quickly as possible. He can’t just run away, though, so as Marlow continues to just <i>stand there,</i> looking at something in the distance while Eise does nothing at all, even going so far as to sit on the ground, Roman finds his patience wearing <i>very</i> thin.</p><p>Trying to be quiet, he decides to just ask what the hell they’re doing. </p><p>“Waiting.”</p><p>“Waiting for <i>what?</i>”</p><p>“A signal.”</p><p>“I hate it when people are so <i>vague,</i> just tell me the plan all at once, please!”</p><p>Eise is not amused. “We’re gonna break in, duh. When someone we’ve got inside signals us, we’ll go in and each of us will have to carry as much as we can and book it. Simple.”</p><p>“...Carry what?”</p><p>“<i>Firecrackers,</i> what do you think, dum-dum? It’s weapons. Some kind of explosive, knowing Miss Walliums. She doesn’t tell us everything, you know? We’re all here to pay off a debt, same as you - we do what we’re told with what we’re given. Now shut the hell up.”</p><p>Roman does, but not because Eise told him to. She and Marlow may be older than him, but like she said - they’re all just paying off their debt. They hold no authority over him! </p><p>. . .</p><p>How exactly to carry what they now knew was definitely explosive weapons was proving to be an issue. They couldn’t just pick up a crate and run, not only because of the weight but running might jostle them and make everything go boom.</p><p>Roman’s been trying to get a handle on not burning things with his power, but so far it seems to be a 50/50 deal. The crates are plated with steel, but he isn’t sure if the heat alone would be enough to set something off. Still, it’s this or nothing, so he just says it:</p><p>“I- I could make like, a sled? And we could pull it along like that, with wheels. I might even be able to make something to pull it, but I don’t know what-”</p><p>“Well whatever you’re gonna do, do it quick!”</p><p>So he does. It looks like a large bobsled with wheels; and after a moment, a glittering red, vaguely horse-shaped creature appears in front of it, tied to the sled. He isn’t so good at making shapes without physically touching them, yet, but he can do it.</p><p>“Well… I guess this works. How much will it be able to carry, kid?”</p><p>“Uhm… the heaviest thing I’ve lifted so far is me, but I know it can do more. Just pile as many as you can fit without risking anything falling? I’ll tie them down after, too, just to be safe.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>They make it out surprisingly not much worse for wear. Marlow has super good timing - something about being able to feel the footsteps of the guardsmen…? When they return, River is pleasantly surprised with them, and that’s that. Roman finds himself really wishing there had been more action, but everyone keeps telling him to be glad they didn’t have to see any. They’re probably right, but he’s still disappointed. </p><p>Besides that, now that he’s shown his general capabilities, he feels just a little more comfortable around Walliums’s other debtors. Now that he thinks about it, he’s seen a lot of people walking around the underground base who are obviously boosted as well - is this just what Walliums does? Boost desperate people so that she can make them use those powers to her advantage? Nothing in the news had ever reported such, but then again… the news doesn’t do much these days but give the weather forecast and gossip.</p><p>...Roman does have to go home during the day, and no one really protested this, like he’d thought, but it’s all the same to him. It’s not like he’s going to abandon his friends, he’s doing all of this for Virge, after all. Maybe once he’s done with paying off his debt to River, he can get a job doing… something that would be made easier with his power. Something that wasn’t… wasn’t what they were doing now.</p><p>. . .</p><p>“Look, I’m just saying, would you rather feel a little bad for a stranger and <i>eat tonight,</i> or continue hurting yourself because you can’t take from someone who clearly has enough already?”</p><p>“I… I know, okay! But- god, I shouldn’t have to explain to you why stealing is wrong!”</p><p>“If you won’t do it, I will! But I might not always be able to, so you’re going to have to learn!”</p><p>“Dammit, Virgil, I- fine! Fine, let’s just… get this over with so we can <i>leave</i>.”</p><p>And Virgil- when he says that, Virgil gives him this <i>stupid look,</i> like he’s <i>sorry,</i> but if he was actually sorry, he wouldn’t keep insisting that they- rob people! Roman knows, he <i>knows</i> they’re in a bad situation. He isn’t trying to ignore it, or try to pretend like things will- will magically get better, but this is still <i>wrong!</i></p><p>“It’s okay, Roman. I didn’t expect you to want to do this, or anything- because you’re… y’know… <i>you,</i> but I promise I’m doing this for <i>us,</i> you know that, right? It’s always us against everyone else.”</p><p>“...yeah. I know. Us.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>It’s his last month working for Miss Walliums. The thought is very freeing, somehow. Nothing she could throw at him could keep him down now- he’s so close to the finish line. He has the freedom of someone who’s earned the right to walk through this world at any pace he chooses. He still doesn't, <i>like</i> doing it, but he has higher priorities. And for that, Virgil had seemed equally relieved. Slowly but surely, they were making progress. Camping out in the park and trying to figure out if the pond water would make them sick morphed into camping out in the sketchiest motel available, because it was only 25$ a night for one twin bed, and the guy in the office didn’t get paid enough to care if they were eighteen or not, as long as they paid for the room on time each morning.</p><p>The shower was… questionable at best, but it was running water that was sometimes more than lukewarm, which was a gift from god as far as they were concerned. Bugs could be squished or (in Virgil’s case) yeeted through a window, so they could deal with that, too. Going to a coin laundromat for the first time was very exciting, but also very… confusing. Luckily the sweet lady who worked there had the foresight to ask if the two teenage boys knew which soaps went where, and what settings to put the machines on. Roman would have felt embarrassed if he wasn’t so exhilarated at having enough spare changes of clothes to not look super weird going to a laundromat. </p><p>Though he does remember someone asking, jokingly, “what? Your mama finally tell you she’s sick of doing your laundry and sent you here?”</p><p>...He doesn’t really remember how they responded to that.</p><p>. . .</p><p>“...yeah I don’t think the microwave cooked this as <i>all</i>.”</p><p>Roman can’t help himself from laughing hysterically at that- Virgil had just bitten full on into a hot pocket he had supposedly just cooked. And he’d barely made a dent in it.</p><p>“STOP LAUGHING, ROMAN! HOW IS IT THIS HOT, YET FROZEN SOLID INSIDE?!”</p><p>“ ‘Tis shroder’s hot pocket, simultaneously frozen and cooked at all times-”</p><p>“Oh my <i>god,</i> shut up before I hit you with it!”</p><p>“Come on, it can’t be that difficult! Maybe we can light a dumpster fire outside and cook it marshmallow-style?”</p><p>“That sounds awful, Roman. I think I’m just gonna microwave it for like, 20 minutes.”</p><p>...Roman had never seen a melted hot pocket before, but yon know… learn something new every day. Today, they learned that hot pockets can exist in two stages: solid and liquid.</p><p>. . .</p><p>What is he doing what is he doing what is he <i>doing-</i> </p><p>“Hey, what do you think you’re-”</p><p>Punching a guy trying to rob the Shell, apparently. </p><p>He didn’t really <i>mean</i> to, but he’d been in the back, crouching to try and find this one flavor of skittles he <i>knows</i> he saw last week, when he’d heard someone yelling up front. Some creep was trying to rob the place (seriously? He couldn’t have at least picked a 7/11 or something that has the money to redeem their scratchers-) and Roman’s feet had moved before his brain could catch up with them. The guy only had a large knife, no projectiles (not that those would do much to Roman, either) so he’d just… ran up and decked him in the face.</p><p>The older woman running the register seemed thankful, at least. He told her to call the cops while he took a minute to restrain the attempted-robber. It was pretty easy to form sparkling red cuffs, and to kick the dropped weapon a good five or six feet away.</p><p>The cops were grateful but grilled him about doing something “so dangerous” until they’d seen the cuffs Roman had made. It took less than a moment for them to realize he was boosted, and he felt a weird sense of pride at how uncomfortable they looked, realizing they had just called a super reckless for fighting a common, <i>not boosted</i> criminal.</p><p>“I see… I apologize, it must be exhausting to fight on your day off, huh?”</p><p>Roman doesn’t understand at first, but the shift in the demeanor of the two policemen was obvious - more friendly, almost like conspiratorial in a way.</p><p>“I gotta say, I didn’t know there were heroes as young as you in this city. What’s your name?”</p><p>Oh. OH. They think he’s- well that’s very flattering, but he doesn’t really know how to respond to that.</p><p>“Roman Denver, at your service!”</p><p>They chuckled at that, one of them giving him a pat on the back that was a little too rough, in his opinion.</p><p>“Right, right- Roman Denver. Regular civilian, eh?”</p><p>“Yep! Just an average joe we’ve got here, I think- nothing to report on that.”</p><p>Roman really just wants this to be over now. Yes, he <i>wants</i> to be a hero, and he would appreciate not having his name in any papers right now, so he tries to play along as well as he can. It’s awkward, but they eventually leave, and the cashier lets him get his drinks and candy for free, which he tries to refuse.</p><p>“Young man, you may well have just saved my life. I think this is the least that I can do.”<br/>
. . .</p><p>Now that he’s been confronted with the idea, Roman can’t stop thinking about it. About being a superhero. </p><p>They do exist, just as much as supervillains do. It’s a bit of a superfluous term, but he could do it. He could do more than just stop small crimes in his area. He’s strong enough, anyways. All he’d really need is a superhero name, and some sort of costume. He could…</p><p>Maybe he should. River is a supervillain, though what her boost is has been a mystery for years - they say the only ones who know what her power is are six feet under. If he’s ever going to take her down, he’s going to need practice. He needs to fight other supervillains with similar levels of strength, to know if he could even get a single scratch on her.</p><p>The longer Roman spends thinking it over, even trying to imagine what he’d look like, what kind of costume he’d wear, the more excited he gets. </p><p>It should definitely be red, or at least mostly red - something to compliment his power. Maybe some white or black to accent it, like… like a medieval guardsman- no! A knight! Yes- he could be the brave, strong knight that swoops in to save the day! Probably white and red then- maybe he could find some sort of chain-mail, or steel-</p><p>Before he even knows what he’s doing, Roman finds himself sketching designs on a notepad - a bit wobbly, and he doesn’t have an eraser, but he can imagine it well enough… No capes, obviously, no matter how cool it would look, he’s seen the Incredibles… but maybe a sash?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Me? Depressed? But I'm an engineer!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>WOOP now it's LOGAN'S turn, friendos! This is a long one, I think.</p><p>If you have any questions, feel free to comment them below- my buddies who get to see these chapters as I'm writing them tend get very curious, so don't be shy, lol</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patton makes very good tea, and Logan couldn’t refuse a game of chess with him - especially when Patton had actually ordered <i>a real 3d chess set!</i></p><p>They’re both learning, or, more accurately - Logan is teaching Patton, while trying to figure out the logistics of it himself along the way. They have nothing but time, as Logan isn’t currently responsible for any commissions and Patton seems to work on his own terms. He knows that Patton is self-employed, but he’s never gone into any further detail than that, and Logan is content to leave it be.</p><p>Whilst trying not to completely knock anything over as he places the pieces where the manual says to, Patton makes enough idle chatter to fill the space. He tries to respond semi-frequently, but is a little too enraptured in his work. </p><p>“Hey Lo, I know you work with a bunch of fancy scientific stuff all day, but I remember you mentioning that you’ve never been to college before. Did you go to some sort of trade school instead?”</p><p>“...I suppose you could say that. I never much cared for the public education system, and I really just wanted to begin work as soon as possible.”</p><p>“Yeah. I didn’t really like school either, but I think for different reasons.”</p><p>“Different how?”</p><p>“Well, I know I’m kinda assuming here, but I bet you were really bored with school, right? You seem like you would have been ahead of all that stuff.”</p><p>“...you would be correct in that assumption.”</p><p>“Mhm. And I didn’t like school because I wasn’t good at… behaving the way I was supposed to. It didn’t have anything to do with the material, I was just different and schools don’t always cater to that.”</p><p>“...I do not wish to pry, but-”</p><p>“Oh, it’s fine! I know what you’re going to ask, anyway. I think I probably mentioned it at some point, anyway- I’m dyslexic.”</p><p>“Yes.. I think I remember that.”</p><p>“And I didn’t really have anyone to help me understand what was wrong, and I just couldn’t keep up with the work. So I stopped trying, and was sort of a bad seed… since I stopped caring about getting in trouble for not being able to complete work on time, I stopped caring about the consequences for anything. But eventually, when I went to the optometrist to get my glasses - because wouldn’t you know, dyslexia and astigmatism! The doc realized something was wrong and tested me for it. After that I got some special glasses for it and my mom would read stuff out for me when it got to be too much.”</p><p>Logan isn’t sure why, but this discussion was making him feel a little nostalgic about his own school days. It wasn’t anything special, really, but he spends so little time thinking about it that he’s surprised the details are still so clear to him…</p><p>. . .</p><p>School is truly the most boring part of his entire day. Logan is not in any way shy to tell this to anyone who will listen, especially teachers and staff. He could think of few other places he knew of that he <i>wouldn’t</i> prefer to visit over sitting for six out of seven hours reciting facts he’s long memorized, and jogging or playing “dodge ball” for the other hour. </p><p>Not to mention the other students themselves. Shoving and yelling themselves through the halls, sticking gum just about everywhere <i>but</i> in the garbage, and making a peaceful lunch hour impossible no matter where you sat.</p><p>He’d taken to eating his lunch in the parking lot for a small amount of time, but that had lead to its own unique set of problems that weren’t really preferable to the cafeteria or hallways.</p><p>In short: Logan despises school, and everyone in it.</p><p>Eventually the teachers had learned to stop calling on him for questions, though, so he could spend his time reading and working on his own projects, instead of geometry or <i>creative writing exercises…</i></p><p>He enjoys the engineering and computer science classes and programs at his school, though. Mr. Denver is very competent at his work, he apparently used to work in car manufacture and repair, which makes sense. Logan has even helped him customize a few vehicles for extra credit, and just to learn the skill.</p><p>“You know, you’re getting pretty good at this, Mr. Tebeau! Have you ever thought about becoming a mechanic?”</p><p>“Not to offend, but I was thinking of something a little more… upscale, sir.”</p><p>“I know it doesn’t seem very glamorous, but when you’ve got the talent it can be pretty lucrative, you know.”</p><p>“Then why did you quit to become a teacher?”</p><p>“Well I didn’t really quit, as I’m still in practice, I just stopped doing it full-time. And to answer your question - I felt like I’d learned all I could, and it was time for me to pass on the knowledge onto bright young minds like yourself.”</p><p>“I… suppose that makes sense. But wouldn’t you rather pass it on to your own kids?”</p><p>“I don’t actually have kids, Mr. Tebeau. Not yet, anyways. And who says they’ll be any good at this when me and the misus finally do create our little legacy?”</p><p>“Sure. I suppose they could turn out some sports-nut, like Mr. Willby.”</p><p>“Don’t insult your p.e. teacher kid, that’s a one-way route to getting stuck running laps all year.”</p><p>“Oh dear Newton, if that happens, just put me out of my misery.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Taking the test to earn his driver’s license was deceptively simple, but that is perhaps because Mr. Denver had already shown him how to maneuver both stick-shift and automatic cars, upon finishing their repair. </p><p>He still doesn’t have a vehicle of his own, but he drives the family car on occasion. His mother was all the more eager to send him out for groceries, now that he wasn’t restricted by only having two arms to carry them home with, and his father… didn’t seem affected at all, really. The achievement didn’t really make him proud or anxious… or anything. Then again, Logan should have expected that. He’d still hoped that the man would at least acknowledge him when he was showing off the license to the rest of the family.</p><p>...Whatever. He knows <i>someone</i> who will care, at least.</p><p>“Damn, would you look at that! You are now officially able to get your very own DUI! Hahaha!”</p><p>“I do not intend to drink and drive, Mr. Denver…”</p><p>“Ah, that’s what they all say! But before you know it, you’re out at some party, and you have a few too many, but-”</p><p>“I do not intend to go out <i>partying</i> either!”</p><p>“Eh? Why not, you have perfect grades, you deserve to let loose a little! Go do a keg stand, or something, <i>that</i> will be an experience, believe me!”</p><p>“I’m 16!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>“Logan! Great to see ya, kid- look I have got some <i>big</i> news!”</p><p>“What- what happened? Why are you jumping around like that?”</p><p>“Melissa’s pregnant!!”</p><p>“Wh- really? That’s great! I mean- when did you find out?”</p><p>“Yesterday, I wanted to tell you right away but Mel insisted we go out to celebrate, and I got a little caught up, you know, so-”</p><p>“It- that’s fine, Mr. Denver. I would imagine you’d want to tell your family and friends before me, anyway…”</p><p>“The hell are you talking about, Logan? <i>We’re</i> friends! Of course I’d tell you as soon as possible- hell, the little sprout will practically be your little niece or nephew!”</p><p>Logan cannot explain the feeling of warmth that brings him. He had always thought of himself and Mr. Denver - <i>Quinton</i> - as friends, but he wasn’t really sure what the other’s opinion on the matter. The Denvers felt more like family than his actual one at times, and he spent just as much time at their house as his own.</p><p>“...Yes, I suppose they will. I look forward to judging their mechanical prowess.”</p><p>“Damn right, if there’s as much as a single mechanic’s bone in their body, we’re gonna teach them everything we know!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Despite his excitement over Melissa’s growing baby bump being about as ridiculous and loud as Quinton’s, he hadn’t immediately realized just how… emotional he was getting over it.</p><p>He <i>really</i> didn’t expect to cry upon seeing the first ultrasound images, for example.</p><p>“Logan!!! Look at him, that’s our little baby boy in there!!!!”</p><p>“I <i>know</i> Quin, just shut up for a moment, please!”</p><p>Melissa was kind enough to provide them both with tissues, but Logan found he just couldn’t keep up with his own stupid emotions, and game up on trying to hide it. If Quinton’s allowed to cry, then so is he, dammit.</p><p>. . . </p><p>As he was in school at the time, Logan hadn’t known that Melissa had gone into labor until after school, when he’d gotten to their home and found no one there. Not sure where they’d gone but feeling a vague sense of panic at them not even leaving a note on the door like usual, he drove home as quickly as possible to use the house phone. Pauline, Melissa’s sister, was almost always glued to her phone. </p><p>“Logan? This is you, right?”</p><p>“Yes, Pauline, do you know where Quinton and Melissa are at the moment?”</p><p>“Oh, you didn’t hear? They’re at the hospital, Mel is-”</p><p>...He’s never broken the speed limit before, but somehow he can’t find it in him to care about traffic laws at the moment. When he arrives, Quinton has to come down and confirm that he is, in fact, a welcome guest. Fortunately the labor ended a while ago, but he still feels bad about making him leave Melissa like that, even just for a few minutes.</p><p>“Logan, you’re here! I was hoping you’d get the word, today’s been a little hectic- come on, I know you wanna see the little sprout, right?”</p><p>“...yes, if that is… permissible.”</p><p>“ ‘Course, Logan. You’re family too, you know that.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>“He is… so tiny.”</p><p>“I know, right? 6 pounds, 10 ounces. A bit smaller than normal apparently, but not bad. You wanna hold him?”</p><p>“I- I couldn’t possibly, what if I drop him, Quinton? What if I-”</p><p>“I know how you feel, but here- look, just sit down and I’ll show you how.”</p><p>Logan dumbly does as instructed, and carefully watches how Quinton supports the infant’s head. He isn’t ready, but then again, he doesn’t think any conceivable amount of time could possibly <i>ever</i> make him ready for this, so he takes the metaphorical leap, and holds the damn baby.</p><p>His voice is surprisingly small, when he finally speaks again: “...have you chosen a name?”</p><p>“Logan Tebeau, meet Roman Devon.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>They are going to kill him. This is it, Logan is a dead man walking, Quinton will likely see to his painful end personally, why has life chosen to forsake him in this way?</p><p>It was his turn to watch the one year old, babbling mess for the afternoon, and he had been in the middle of trying to explain the 8 piece puzzle to Roman, when suddenly his senseless babbles began to sound suspiciously like…</p><p>“Zz! Puh-zz!! Puhz!!! Puh-zuhl!”</p><p>…<i>What?</i></p><p>“Puh-zuhl! Puh-zul! Puzzul!!”</p><p>“Are you… trying to say puzzle, Roman?”</p><p>“PUZZLE!”</p><p>...He was thankfully <i>not</i> eviscerated for being the only one to hear Roman say his first word, but it was a near thing. Roman shouting “puzzle” over and over was just too adorable to let anyone to feel anything but excitement and joy, upon hearing it.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan was greatly disappointed in himself and pissed off with the public education system for causing him to miss Roman’s first steps, but Mellisa thankfully had her own video camera, and caught most of it on tape for them all to watch over and over, instead of acknowledging the looming dread that came with a child who was now able to reach many more things than before. Many dangerous things that were once safe were now a great hazard, especially if Roman ever got away from them.</p><p>There was a lot more baby-proofing done to the house, which made traversing it inconvenient for anyone not tall enough to just step over the gate, which was pretty much everyone except for Quin. He seemed to find this hilarious, but was quickly humbled when one evening he tried to pull that stunt while holding a very hot mug of tea, and, well…</p><p>Everyone found <i>that</i> funny. </p><p>. . .</p><p>Graduating high school was both incredibly freeing and frightening. He really hadn’t had much of a plan for what he wanted to do after. He knew that he did <i>not</i> want to go to university, or any sort of further education, he was just fine with never stepping into another classroom for the rest of his life, <i>thanks,</i> but that didn’t narrow things down much.<br/>
He settled for, (a little grudgingly) attempting to apply for a job with the car garage Quinton used to work at, as he had offered to vouch for Logan’s skills despite his lack of degree. They’d been a little suspicious at first, but he had proved himself capable enough, and there was a local trade school where he could get the proper certification in just two years. It was already more than he wanted to do, but if a piece of paper was absolutely necessary to work, he could bear it. Probably. In the meantime they would still let him work part-time, just not on items where he could be liable for any…  problems.</p><p>At the end of getting all of that sorted… well, he knew he wanted to move out from his family’s home, but he also wouldn’t have anywhere to go yet. He supposes he shouldn’t have been so surprised when Quin offered their guest room to him.</p><p>...It made sense, but it still felt like an imposition.</p><p>“C’mon, Logan, you sleep over here more often than you stayed at your own place, you practically already live here! Just bring your stuff over and if you need help getting rid of some of it, Melissa’s been talking about a garage sale…”</p><p>“You really are too compassionate for your own good, Quinton.”</p><p>“Yep! And you’d better damn well accept my kindness before I start beating you over the head with it.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman is six, and Logan already feels like he’s too old.</p><p>“He is starting 1st grade, Melissa! 1st grade, the first chance for public schooling to completely disappoint and stunt him!”</p><p>“Logan, we know your opinion on public school and I’m not saying it’s unfounded, but school won’t be his only opportunity to learn things, we’re going to teach him as well, alright? If you think the school is teaching him any bullshit, teach him better yourself.”</p><p>“I… I suppose I will have to. I apologize, I just- he’s too good for them, already.”</p><p>“We know, Logan. You know what, Lotta’s son is going to the same place as Ro is, so at least he won’t be alone on his first day…”</p><p>“Lotta’s… you mean Virgil, right? The one that Roman’s been having all those play-dates with?”</p><p>“Yep! You’re just usually at work when they visit.”</p><p>“That is a relief, then…”</p><p>. . . </p><p>...Logan really regrets watching the late night news, but can’t find it in himself to look away from the report when he sees it.</p><p>Quinton and Melissa had been talking about taking a vacation lately, and Lotta and her husband had proposed that they split the cost of a hotel by the beach for a week, for both families. Logan had initially agreed to go, but realized that his final’s, unfortunately, took place all the way through the first 3 days of the planned trip date.</p><p>He told them to go anyways, he could drive down to be with them for the last four days of the trip. They shouldn’t hold themselves back because of his schedule. They hesitantly agree, and tell him to not overwork himself. </p><p>Supervillains have been around for a while now, though Logan <i>is</i> old enough to remember the time before the boost surgery had come about. He’d been… perhaps ten or eleven, when it did. But now heroes and villains were more common occurrences, if still a bit rare to the average citizen. Attacks happened, and as one of the states with the highest population, it was slightly more frequent in New York; but only slightly. He’d never even met someone who’d seen a villain attack.</p><p>There’s always a hero to stop them before anything huge happens, though.</p><p>There’s always someone who can stop them.</p><p>There’s always so few casualties, eight people to the possible twenty or fifty or a hundred should always be preferable.</p><p>But not- not when he <i>knows</i> six of those eight. Not when- Not when it’s them.</p><p>Everyone is saying that they’re… they’re so <i>glad</i>, that it wasn’t them. That the heroes saved <i>them,</i> and <i>their</i> family…</p><p>No one is angry, no one is- no one is a <i>furious</i> as he feels, they’re all just so- so <i>grateful<i>, and glad that it’s <i>over,</i> when it’s really <i>not</i>.</i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>They didn’t save anything- if they didn’t save <i>everyone,</i> then how could they stand there and say that they had saved <i>anyone</i>?!</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...Everything is gone. He isn’t saying it metaphorically, it isn’t an exaggeration, the Devons were his <i>everything</i>. He.. he doesn’t have anything left, without them. He’s never felt so… <i>alone</i>.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . . </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The first time he began working with something a little more complex than a car, it was just something to distract himself. He found that working made forgetting things easier. The sort of precision required to weld and wire small parts doesn’t allow for upsetting thoughts.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It has just been some vague schematics he’d found online; someone was asking if anyone thought the design was possible to make, and if so, would it do what was intended. Logan took the weekend to fiddle with it, and by the end of the next week proper, he’d worked out most of the small kinks. It really didn’t do much in terms of removing boxes from high shelves on its own, as the designer had hoped, but it was pretty good for an automatic ladder nonetheless, and he told them such; even sending them his ideas for a machine to accomplish what they had been looking for.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The anonymous character had been very excited, and asked if he would like to collaborate on a few similar projects. Logan made sure to tell them his primary expertise was with vehicles, but that didn’t seem to deter them at all. So he agreed. It wouldn’t take much time from his schedule, anyways- they only lived an hour away, surprisingly enough.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>And that was the start of his interest in robotics. It wasn’t as hard to adapt to as he’d imagined, and it was great busywork. His new partner - Amanda - was very excited to work with him, and was eager to teach him everything she knew. She was fresh out of high school, looking for work as a contract engineer. She’d spent a few summers repairing AC units, but was hoping for something “more fun.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He couldn’t help but feel rather amused at that - work isn’t always meant to be fun, but Amanda was the kind of person who didn’t really care about that sort of thing.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“How many times do I have to tell you, just call me Mandy!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I will do no such thing, Amanda.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Why not!? We’re friends, aren’t we?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I… suppose, but what does that have to do with what I call you?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“All my friends just call me Mandy!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I will consider it.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You’re really insufferable, you know that Logan?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Thank you.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He can’t help but admit that he’s interested in contract engineering as well, now that Mandy has been going on about it for so long. He’s even looked into a few online advertisements for projects within his capabilities, and sent emails expressing his interest. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mandy’s been doing the same, and they’ve begun to build a bit of a reputation for themselves, over a few months. Clients seem impressed with their work, especially when they find out Logan only has a basic degree, and Mandy isn’t even old enough to drink yet. It’s garnered a lot of interest in their abilities, and eventually Logan has to give up his job at the garage, for practicality’s sake. He’s just making more money this way, and he can choose which hours he works. It isn’t a “walk out with no notice” quit, but he feels a great deal of smugness leaving George’s office all the same, for some reason.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>When Logan sees Mandy at her “badass bitches only” garage the next day and tells her what he did, she laughs and insists that they get drinks to celebrate.At which point Logan reminds her that while <i>he</i> may be twenty two, she is still very much <i>underage</i>.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Pssshh, whatever! Apple cider or something, then. And party poppers! Seriously, go, you can show me the receipt later and I’ll pay you back, but you are <i>not</i> entering the garage again until you have something that goes pop or bang, you hear me?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Logan did, in fact, find <i>many</i> things that “go pop or bang” and many that create smoke. It wasn’t hard to toss one around the corner, through the garage door, and maybe a few feet from where Mandy was standing. The scream he heard come a little belatedly was <i>very</i> satisfying.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh my GOD!!! LOGAN, WHAT IF YOU SET SOMETHING ON FIRE, I SWEAR I WILL-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But Amanda, It was “just a harmless prank!””</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“WHAT ARE YOU- you <i>cannot</i> still be upset about that, come on!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Purple, Mandy! You died half of my wardrobe purple with that stunt!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>There are days where Logan is extremely thankful for his change in career, because he will wake up and be inexplicabley unable to get out of bed, no matter how much he wants to. He simply cannot find the strength to do much more than roll over and go back to sleep, or stare at whichever wall he happens to be facing.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It is… frustrating, but he manages. Mandy understands, and does not press for information, only asks that he tries to communicate that he won’t be coming in that day. Sometimes she brings him take out when it happens, and just sits with him for a while. He knows that she’s picking the lock to his door every time she does it, but he doesn’t bother addressing that part. Because then he would have to address these… episodes of his, as well.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Despite how short of a time they’ve known each other, in the long term of things, Logan knows that he can trust Mandy, even if only about as far as he could throw her, metaphorically. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>So he’s genuinely happy for her when a contractor wants to employ her full time at his office a few hours drive away. He really is. He just… wishes that it hadn’t happened so suddenly.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He tells her to take the offer, obviously - the salary is ridiculous, it really isn’t an offer she should pass up. She may never get a better offer, and if she does, it will be because she worked her way up from this one.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It’s an emotional enough goodbye, without Mandy asking him over and over if he’s really sure that he’ll be okay. Logan says that he will, he has other friends, you know. She knows he isn’t telling the truth, but with him pushing her to go, there really isn’t any reason for her to keep the taxi waiting any longer. With a final hug, she departs, and Logan recognizes the feeling of <i>empty, empty, alone,</i> that comes this time.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...He’s really, <i>really</i> glad for the change in his career. No one can stop him from taking a week off, unprompted.</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Hooligans and kicking down doors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's a special little treat in this chapter ;)</p><p>EDIT: No idea how over half this chapter ended up bolded, but I fixed it XD</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Villainy <i>really</i> can’t wait until <i>after</i> 3:15, can it?</p><p>Because this is the fourth time <i>this week</i> that Roman has had to dash off school campus, usually right in the middle of class, to go fight it. It’s getting really hard to excuse it with visits to the nurse, or “family emergencies.”</p><p>He suspects that Logan is doing this on purpose, taking advantage of Roman being in school most of the time, and he’s been getting away a bit more frequently than usual. A part of him considers just dropping out like Virgil, but he also isn’t going to just give up like that. He <i>wants</i> to have some sort of a normal life to return to when he isn’t doing hero stuff! Once he can get his license in a few months things will be much easier, or at least it will be easier to catch up to Logan if he can drive.</p><p>It’s so <i>stupid</i> that you have to be exactly sixteen and a half to get a restricted driver’s license, who the heckity-heck came up with that? Someone who hates teenagers, apparently. And he’d been so excited to finally turn 16, too! It felt like… like some sort of achievement, somehow. Like being able to make it this far, after everything, was… well, he felt proud. Of himself <i>and</i> Virgil.</p><p>They’d worked so hard, they deserved the nice life they have now. </p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman is such a stubborn <i>brat</i>, and Logan would truly be amazed if he was still <i>attending</i> school, at this point. He’s always there to stop him, even if he arrives just a little too late, he’s always ready to put up a fight. And Logan is <i>exhausted.</i><br/>
Not just physically, either! Of course, Roman has been much more insufferable as a combatant since he’d begun formal training (<i>why</i> had he critiqued his enemy’s fighting style?) but their clipped-conversations had become much more personal as well.</p><p>Now that Roman knows who’s behind the mask, he seems to think he can “get to him” somehow. Like being acquaintances would suddenly make Logan feel morally obligated to be <i>”good”</i>. Absurd. </p><p>Though he <i>is</i> tempted to take a small break from the open field, as Roman apparently is either unaware of, or unable to prevent his commissioned work. It would be nice to take some time to relax, but that might be as suspicious as trying to schedule break-ins to whenever he can best guess that Roman is asleep. No one had told him having a nemesis would be so <i>tiring</i>. Well, a few had, but they had also expressed the likelihood of running into someone who would become so resolutely determined to see the end of your work.</p><p>...What is he doing? What is the world is he doing, when did he take out his phone-</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
What the hell was that stunt you pulled today? You could have been vaporized, literally.</b>
</p><p>What is he <i>doing?</i></p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>
And <i>you</i> could have become the murderer of a particularly cute stray dog.</b>
</p><p>Why is he typing again? What the hell is he thinking, this is the stupidest, absolute <i>worst</i> idea he has ever acted upon in his <i>life-</i></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
You are an imbecile. Surely your life holds more value to you than that of a stray animal.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>
You'd be surprised, lmao</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
That is not an answer, Roman.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>
I guess it’s not. Tbh I didn’t think you even knew what texting was, and I don’t get why you’d tex <i>me</i> of all ppl</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
I’m going to ignore those nonsensical acronyms until you can convincingly tell me you will not repeat today’s behavior</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>
Damn, chill. “To be honest” and ppl is short for “people” first off.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Second, since when do you care about my self-worth</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Since I found out you are actually fifteen and I would like to keep the list of dead children connected to me stagnant.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsely&lt;<br/>
DAMN OKAY, we can unpack all that later, but I guess if it’s such a big deal, fine. I promise I won’t sacrifice myself for any stray animals in the future.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
...I’m still not entirely satisfied but we’ll consider this progress.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsely&lt;<br/>
Lol. Have a hopefully crime-free day, Logan.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
And you as well.</b>
</p><p>
  Logan most certainly did <i>not</i> take the time to google the meaning of “lol.” Definitely not.
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  Roman has no idea why he agrees to dares that involve his powers so often when he’s <i>seen</i> the sort of damage he can cause, many times. But the power of truth-or-dare is a powerful thing, even more so in the middle of the night when way too much caffeine is involved.
</p><p>
 “Look, look, it’s simple, okay? I want you to go outside and just… jump as high as you can. No holding back, this isn’t even like, a dare, I just really wanna know babe.”
</p><p>
They all came with, naturally, and Roman tries to remember the highest he’s ever jumped - just plain vertically - as they ascend the basement stairs. As they step into the backyard, he recalls one fight with Logan where the fiend had been using some sort of… really big robot to do… something. He can’t even remember, really, but he’s pretty sure he got a nasty concussion that day so it’s not too surprising. He’d jumped onto the back of the machine, pretty close to the top, looking for a way inside in order to drag its operator out. The thing must have been a good… 20 feet tall? Probably.
</p><p>
  Stretching his legs a bit, Roman wonders if there’s a way they could measure how far he gets if he ends up going past the roof of the house. Eh, it doesn’t matter. He jumps, with as much force as he can muster. He’d never really practiced his vertical leaping skills, to be honest.
</p><p>
  His feet just barely clear the roof, before he slams back down to solid earth, and creates a bit of a dent in the ground. Nothing huge, mind you, but the effect of the sound combined with the damage sets a bit of a mood. Suddenly they’re challenging all of the more athletic aspects of his power - he beats all of them in short sprints, though they don’t have anything to accurately measure his speed, anyways. Roman already knows about how powerful his punches and kicks are, and there isn’t anything available he could hit that wouldn’t break immediately.
</p><p>
  Nathan asks if he can hold his breath for a long time, to which he doesn’t have an answer. They time him. Then they time him again, with a liberal application of tape, because there’s no way he’d actually gotten to four minutes before he burst out laughing at all of their faces. With the tape, he doesn’t tap out for a full eight minutes and thirty-two seconds, which is even more hilarious to watch them all go insane over.
</p><p>
  His flexibility is pretty good as well, but Virgil knows damn well that Roman could do a full split <i>before</i> he was boosted, so it’s not as impressive.
</p><p>
 Thomas says he’s only morbidly curious when he asks how Roman’s heartbeat changes, but he humors him anyway. He does some light jogging and hops over the gate between the front and back yards a couple of times, before letting Thomas find his heartbeat. In comparison to his heart rate when moving around just a little, there isn’t much difference, but apparently it’s much faster than his resting rate. None of them know what that means, so they just mark it down in the “random weird shit” category and don’t think about it too hard.
</p><p>
  They’re all giggling like little idiots as they “sneak” back inside, shushing each other and stage whispering to <i>shut up, shut up!</i> There really isn’t any point, because no one is inside sleeping, and if the neighbors had heard them, they’d have just chalked it all up to stupid teenagers. Because that’s exactly what it was, but now they’re all basically holding their breaths as they walk downstairs, and as soon as the basement door closes behind them they finally break out into howls and shrieks of laughter.
</p><p>
  It’s really late, actually, it’s more like “really early”, and they’re beginning to slow down. They put the tv on low and sort of just toss all available soft things into a pile on the ground, before collapsing onto it like a bunch of baby snow owls.
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  Logan doesn’t know when he and Patton began having so many of these “sleepovers” but he also doesn’t really care. It is… enjoyable to have a… such an agreeable acquaintance.
</p><p>
  No. He knows that they’re- they’re more than that. You don’t visit “acquaintances” of your own accord nearly every day. But he also has great pattern-recognition, (as all scientists should) and knows what sort of luck befalls anyone he calls a friend.
</p><p>
  Still, whatever sort of relationship they have right now is very welcome when he feels the urge to communicate with someone else, someone physically there, and Patton balances the amount of give and take in their interactions, without digging too deep. It is incredibly refreshing.  
</p><p>
  Like now, for instance. Patton is making omelets, while Logan starts the coffee (the one thing he can do well in the kitchen, due to the incredibly small amount of ways to make coffee look or taste like anything else).
</p><p>
  They didn’t really discuss it beforehand, besides Patton asking what color bell peppers he prefers, and they don’t say much during - and yet somehow Logan knows, completely understands what Patton is reaching for every time he does so, and he can pass it to him with no issue. At some point, one of them had begun humming to some undefined beat, and he is incredibly surprised and slightly perturbed to find that it is <i>him</i>. 
</p><p>
  ...Patton joining in does, inexplicably, make it easier to continue. There is no song they are drawing from, no melody - in fact, their combined effort doesn’t sound very good at all, but neither of them seems to know how to stop. It’s so… absurd, and Logan cannot stop the childish grin settling onto his face.
</p><p>
  <b>
    <b>Chapter 7 Part 2, electric boogaloo:</b>
  </b>
</p><p>
  Patton hadn’t really been sure what to make of his new neighbor across the hall when he’d moved in. As far as he could tell, they had simply not been there one day, and were fully moved in the next! Which, considering the price of these apartments, he really shouldn’t be surprised if they could pay the moving service to do it all overnight, but he hadn’t heard much commotion going on. No struggling to fit a mattress or couch through the front door, no one accidentally dropping a box… 
</p><p>
  Well, he’d been right about Mr. Tebeau anyways. He <i>was</i> incredibly recluse, he seemed to never leave the house for all of the first two weeks he’d been there! Patton suspected there was a little renovation going on, what with all the power drill noises and faint hammering through the walls. It wasn’t really noticeable unless Patton was upstairs though, which meant the changes were probably happening on their second floor.
</p><p>
 He’d tried several times to knock on the door and give some sort of house-warming gift, but besides a quick introduction, Mr.Tebau hadn’t wanted to talk to him at all!
</p><p>
  Which really made Patton wonder how the <i>heck</i> he had gotten permission for those kinds of renovations, with that attitude, when he’d had to bribe the lessor with treats for weeks and prove that he wasn’t just going to move out in a year just to <i>have the place repainted!</i>
</p><p>
  Eventually, Patton had been about ready to give up, when he’d heard a rather loud <i>explosion</i> come from Mr. Tebeau’s second floor. He’d been ready to call the fire department but thought it a little more important to make sure his neighbor was okay first. He knows how to kick in doors, at least, but apparently there was no need. 
</p><p>
  Mr. Tebeau (Logan, he would grudgingly tell him after this) was fine, if a little scratched up, and upset at having his apartment broken into. Patton said he would make it up by making him dinner if he would allow.
</p><p>
  Over said dinner, Patton found out that Logan had not, in fact, asked for permission to make his “laboratory”, but had chosen instead to just do it and hope for forgiveness instead. Which, really, made a lot more sense than bribery, like Patton had been thinking. Somehow he found himself laughing over the situation, and Logan joined him, though he didn’t seem to find it as funny.
</p><p>
 After that, Patton had insisted that they trade numbers, to which Logan had asked why, if they lived right next to one another.
</p><p>
 “Well yeah, but if you never open your door that doesn’t really mean anything, does it?”
/p&gt;

</p><p>
  “...I guess not.”
</p><p>
  <b>. . .</b>
</p><p>
 “Logan, kiddo, I know you own several fire extinguishers but that is <i>not</i> a reason to set <i>more</i> fires inside! If anything, you should be saving them for real emergencies!”
</p><p>
 “Like fires created by an unknown acid coming into contact with a caustic liquid?”
</p><p>
 “I mean, yes- but- you’re combining those things on purpose!!!”
</p><p>
“Of course I am, it is my <i>job,</i> after all.”
</p><p>
“WH- wait what? It is? What <i>is</i> your job, then?”
</p><p>
“I am primarily a contract engineer, but I also specialize in nuclear and chemical engineering, as well as plasma physics.”
</p><p>
“Oh… well I mean, I don’t know what most of that stuff entails, but… that makes some sense, I guess. You still should be more careful, though! The ends of your hair are literally <i>singed!</i>”
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  It’s not like Patton doesn’t know how to deal with fires and spills and… all of the dangerous things Logan does every day, but he doesn’t <i>want</i> to! He- he can’t just ignore it, either, though! Whenever he smells smoke or hears what is most certainly Logan falling over something, his legs just… move before he can think! He knows, he knows that Logan is probably just fine, will be more upset with him for having rushed in than anything, but that doesn’t help.
</p><p>
  He doesn’t know why he thought quitting would really help, in the end. He had been an EMT for <i>years,</i> that sort of training doesn’t just magically go away because you make a few life changes.
</p><p>
  ...Patton needs a vacation, somewhere. His latest client was getting married in Florida, that might be nice. Baby crocodiles are pretty cute, after all.
</p><p>
 . . . 
</p><p>
 Sometimes getting his brain to just stop thinking so many thoughts is a little more difficult than putting on very loud Disney movies, which is disappointing. The fault in having a flexible schedule and very little to fill the empty spaces in it is that there’s too much time for him to be by himself. Lo can’t come over just every time Patton’s a little lonely, and it’s times like this where he wishes he had more friends out in the physical world. Imaginary and online friends can’t make cookies with him, or cuddle and watch movies, (unless he wants to hug his laptop or something…)
</p><p>
Patton really really wants to focus on watching Mulan, because he doesn’t want to space-out (haha, <i>space,</i> get it?) But it really isn’t looking like he has much a choice, once he feels himself slipping.
</p><p>
It feels kinda like that weird, full-body jump that sometimes happens when you’re just barely about to fall asleep, but colder. Just as uncontrollable, though.
</p><p>
 He has no idea where he’ll end up this time, but he hopes it’s nearby. Still in New York, at least, <i>please-</i> 
</p><p>
 . . .
</p><p>
  He… thinks he recognizes where he is, somewhat. It’s a beach, with a bunch of hotels and shops all along it.
</p><p>
 It takes Patton a minute to realize where he is, exactly, but the large crater of glass is enough to job his memory. The site doesn’t really have a name, but he heard that some people took to calling it after the superheroes who were involved. The event had taken place at least 5 years ago, where a very popular hotel and a few nearby buildings had been completely destroyed in a villain attack. Something with a lot of fire and explosions, for sure. Though Patton hadn’t even been in New York at the time, pretty much the entire east coast knew about it to some degree.
</p><p>
 If this is the same place, then he’s in New York City, uhh.. Rockaway Beach? So he needs to head… North East. At least he shouldn’t take too long to get back to himself, this time.
</p><p>
 . . . 
</p><p>
 He’d known his boost was a bit of a hassle the first time he’d woken up to find himself in the middle of a field, who-knows-where, with no memory of traveling there.
</p><p>
 Of course, some unexpected things were going to happen, especially when he hadn’t known what his power would end up being, and there wasn’t a way to tell until it manifested. That doesn’t mean that suddenly being somewhere else without warning, when no one could, apparently, see or hear him, wasn’t incredibly distressing the first few times. 
</p><p>
 The fifth time it ha happened though, he made the connection; He couldn’t really do it on command, because it seemed to only occur when he would lose focus for too long.<br/>
The idea that he couldn’t really do much to prevent his power activating besides try to be constantly focused on something was worrying, considering what his job was - if he lost focus watching tv at night, and had to find his way back to his body from Canada or something, he could miss being called in for emergencies.
</p><p>
 It didn’t take long for him to realize he would probably need a new career. Not that he wanted to, he chose to be an EMT to help people. He’d resuscitated and wrapped people up in a pinch, long enough for them to get help from real medical professionals, and he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do more. But if his own stupid choices were going to hinder him like this, it probably wouldn’t be long before he was let go anyway...
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  Logan’s apartment has been suspiciously quiet all day, and Patton is getting worried. He’d tried knocking on the door already but didn’t get a response, so he decided to call him instead. He <i>could</i> have soundproofed his second floor by now, but for some reason, Patton highly doubts that.
</p><p>
 Sighing, he tells himself to give it twenty minutes, and if he doesn’t answer any of Patton’s texts by then… well, he’ll pay for the damage to the door. Again.
</p><p>
...Logan has <i>not</i> replied to any of his messages, by the time twenty minutes have passed, so it’s kinda technically not breaking in if he thinks there’s a serious chance Logan might need help, right?
</p><p>
Thankfully he does not find an unconscious Logan surrounded by lab equipment, he doesn’t need to go upstairs to the in-home lab, because Logan is right there in his living room.
</p><p>
The only really weird thing is that Logan is sitting in the middle of the floor with some boxes, but he also wouldn’t really know how often Logan uses the floor over furniture, anyway. He’s going through what is obviously a photo album (oh jeez did he just interrupt him looking at old pictures of his grandparents or something that would be <i>super</i> rude-) and is surrounded with a bunch of… baby stuff?
</p><p>
"Uh… hey, Lo… this a bad time? I tried to call you but you didn’t pick up…”
</p><p>
  “Hmm? Oh- Patton! How did you…”
</p><p>
 Logan had turned around a little while remaining seated, and abandoned his question upon seeing the very much <i>busted</i> doorjamb.
</p><p>
 “I… suppose it is not a <i>good</i> time, exactly, but I will not make you leave.”
</p><p>
 “Uhm. Okay. I think I’ll stay for now, then. Whatcha doing?”
</p><p>
 “...ruminating.”
</p><p>
“About what?”
</p><p>
 “My many failures.”
</p><p>
 “Ooooookay. Well, do you think some cookies and a blanket would help with your… uh… rumination?”
</p><p>
Logan made a noncommital noise that Patton would call a shrug in audio form.
</p><p>
“I’m gonna take that as a yes. You just… wait right there, buddy. We’ll get you through… whatever this is, alright? Whatever you’re thinking about, I promise it’ll get better in time.”
</p><p>
. . .
</p><p>
  Logan doesn’t really touch the cookies until they’ve gone completely cold, but Patton doesn’t really care about that. Lo is obviously hurting about something to do with old memories and he doesn’t really know what comfort he can give as an outsider, but he’s trying./p&gt;

</p><p>
“I’m not gonna ask what happened, because it really isn’t my business, but I do wanna know if I can do anything to help, okay Logan? I’m not much, but I’m here if you wanna talk, or find some sort of distraction…”
</p><p>
There’s nothing anyone can do now, Patton. I am being… emotional over things I cannot change.”
</p><p>
“Well, you can be emotional about anything if it’s enough to hurt. Just don’t… get lost in the hurt, okay? ‘Cause that’s how you forget that you can heal.”
</p><p>
“You sound like you have experience.”
</p><p>
  “A little. I’ve seen a lot of hurt people, is all.”
</p><p>
 Logan doesn’t say anything else, so Patton leaves it be. Eventually, Logan says that he’ll be fine, and that he’s going to go do some work before the day is over. Patton understands that he just wants to be alone, and goes back to his own apartment.
</p><p>
 ...he should really just learn how to pick locks, he thinks, as he sees the splintered wood of the doorjamb.
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Low Blow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You know, it’s pretty rude to just invite yourself to someone else’s party!”</p><p>“Sorry, I didn’t know the city’s number one supervillain was <i>off limits,</i> Red Knight!”</p><p>“What- It’s not like that, but you’re totally stealing my thunder, and I don’t even know who you are!”</p><p>“Name’s Billow, I’m sure you can imagine why! I’m just here to help, is all!”</p><p>Roman has no idea how to politely tell another superhero to screw off, because with them flying around and throwing blasts of wind at Logan, they might actually end up <i>taking him down</i>, which he has no good excuse for not wanting to happen. The only option would be to take his own attacks down a notch, but it’s pretty hard to fake exhaustion so early on in a battle. </p><p>So he’s maybe been trying to subtly ask Logan to <i>do something</i> for the love of god, do you <i>want</i> to get taken into custody?!!?</p><p>Fortunately, it seems that this Billow person is pretty new to their power, even if it’s pretty powerful regardless. After another twenty minutes or so, they’re looking pretty rough, and Roman really hopes they just call it quits.</p><p>...Less fortunately, Logan’s latest creation (a swarm of tiny, almost bee-shaped drones) takes the opportunity of the wind beginning to die down to attack Billow directly in what looks like a very painful way. They must be bees, or mosquitoes - because the most they can do is sting you, which wouldn’t be so bad if it was just a few times, but the entire swarm had gone for Billow at once.</p><p>He does <i>not</i> envy them one bit, and Logan must feel the same way because he quickly calls them back.</p><p>They <i>still</i> don’t stay down though, and Roman has a feeling this fight might go on for longer than any of them would like.</p><p>. . .</p><p>“You are such an idiot!”</p><p>“Don’t blame me for your complete refusal to put me in custody, I could escape if I wanted to.”</p><p>“Really? You sure about that? Have you ever been to a supervillain holding facility?”</p><p>“Ah, but I’m <i>not</i> a supervillain. I’m not boosted. And I could break out of a normal prison in an afternoon.”</p><p>“Just <i>get out of here, already!</i> Before they wake up!”</p><p>Roman didn’t like doing it, but eventually, he’d just pretended to let one of his barriers “accidentally” get pushed by the wind directly into Billow, which had really just been meant to get them out of the sky long enough for Logan to escape but had actually knocked them out cold. He could take the fault if he needed to, and it wouldn’t be lying to say that this newbie had thrown him off his rhythm.</p><p>...He just needs to figure out what the proper apology for knocking someone out with an “errant attack” is.</p><p>. . . </p><p>The news report on the event is pretty accurate, at least as far as he wants people to believe things happened. Though Roman does feel bad about all the trash talk about Billow - this had been their debut. Everyone talking about how they’d “gotten in a professional’s way” and “rushed into a fight they had no business in” can’t be good for their career. Not that he entirely disagrees, but they had genuinely tried to help. It’s just that Roman has a stupid personal connection to his nemesis, and ruined their chance to make a good impression and help people.</p><p>When he explains the (altered) turn of events to his friends, Thomas suggests something related to the wind for the apology gift, and Nathan mentions something called a “wind cake” that he’s seen made at the bakery he works in. They all agree that it’s silly and a good ironic joke at best, but Roman can’t think of anything better, so that and a “get well soon” card it is.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Billow seems embarrassed, rather than angry when Roman visits them in the hospital which is… good. Well, not really, but it’s better than angry.</p><p>“I uh… I’m sorry, for hitting you, Billow.”</p><p>“And I’m sorry for getting in your way, back there.”</p><p>“It’s really not- look, uhm. I brought a cake?”</p><p>“Thank you! Hospital food is… kinda gross.”</p><p>“Really? I’ve never really been in one long enough to try the food… uh, would you like me to run and get you something from.. I dunno, Wendy’s?”</p><p>“Oh no, I’ll only be here until tomorrow, this is already more than I expected! Thank you, really.”</p><p>And with that… very awkward conversation over, Roman quietly leaves and hopes to never see Billow in person again, or he will die of embarrassment.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan truly <i>does</i> believe he could break out of even a supermax prison within a day or two, and is about ready to just let another superhero capture him so that he could prove it to Roman. But that would mean the authorities finding out that he isn’t actually boosted, which could pose issues.</p><p>It’s not like he’s been letting them believe that he is for so long without a good reason; it provides an air of mystery about him and makes others wary to challenge him, especially when they cannot see his facial expressions or hear his real voice. The vocal distorter was ultimately unnecessary, as he only converses with Roman when in the mask, but it was a nice touch that he was proud of anyway.</p><p>He’s thought about making other upgrades to his outfit, of course. Mandy had been very excited about the prospect of “rocket boots” but her design was impractical and would no only require more fuel than there was room to store, but it would be nearly impossible to maneuver while midair. Of course, something to provide extra mobility in general, like boots that would provide small bursts of an altered electromagnetic pulse would allow one to jump several feet higher and farther, as well as increase speed.</p><p>...And gloves with a personalized exoskeleton that could extend a short distance or lock in place would provide a better experience for climbing (not that he does that very often) and punching, the possibilities are truly endless. But he’s been more than enough of a match for Roman thus far, and he wouldn’t want to push the match too far out of proportion. That would ruin the fun of it all.</p><p>. . . </p><p>“Why does this feel like you’re messing with me.”</p><p>“I assure you I’m not.”</p><p>“Look, why don’t we just get straight to the cool stuff, you <i>know</i> I can fight!”</p><p>“You can fight, but you’ve never fought in this style before, from what I can see. You saw the other students stretching first, did you not?”</p><p>“Yeah, but it makes me look <i>dumb,</i> and I’ve never had to stretch or anything before fighting! Look!”</p><p>If Roman had thought that doing a split would impress him, Logan really doesn’t know what to think. </p><p>“I suppose if you haven’t thrown your back out by now you’ll be fine… but we are not fighting today. I’ll be teaching you the basic stances and kicks, but I am not so sadistic as to let you challenge me in taekwondo yet.”</p><p>“What?! It can’t be <i>that</i> hard!”</p><p>. . . </p><p>“That’s not fair, I wasn’t ready!”</p><p> </p><p>“You attempted to kick me in the face. At least, I assume that’s what you were going to do before I stopped you. You didn’t seriously expect me to just <i>stand there?</i>”</p><p>“I… I guess not. But what did you even <i>do?</i> I barely saw!”</p><p>“I simply grabbed your foot and let gravity work when your forward momentum had been stopped.”</p><p>“You can’t seriously have just stopped me with one hand like that, I’m like 180 pounds!”</p><p>“I just did, Roman.”</p><p>“I am <i>going</i> to land a kick on you today, I swear.”</p><p>“Sure. May we resume the drill, then?”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman does not land any kicks, but he does punch Logan in the arm a little less than affectionately as they leave the dojo.</p><p>“I didn’t know you were so good at this stuff, you usually avoid attacking me directly, but you might be able to kick my ass in a regular, no-rules fight!”</p><p>“Perhaps. But I avoid getting too close to you for a reason - you may be considerably shorter than me, but you have a lot of muscle definition, as well as what I suspect are boost-enhanced physical capabilities.”</p><p>“You did not just call me short.”</p><p>“No, I was merely commenting on how I’m nearly a foot taller than you, which should not bring offense as you’re still growing, anyways. There’s a good chance you’ll catch up somewhat in the next year or two.”</p><p>“If not I’m going to have to invest in high-heeled boots for that comment.”</p><p>“I believe that would not be practical for hero work.”</p><p>“Watch me, old man.”</p><p>“I am <i>32</i>, that is not even middle-aged by today’s standards!”</p><p>“Oh, is someone sensitive about their age, geezer?”</p><p>“That’s even more inaccurate, you cretin!”</p><p>“Woah, breaking out the really hurtful words, aren’t we? <i>Cretin</i>... I wonder which age that’s from, the Jurassic or Triassic?” </p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman has to admit, he’d gotten a little attached to that bakery after seeing it in person, not just because Nate was there most of the time, but also because of the generally cozy vibe it gave off. It was just a fun place to hang out, once he’d insisted they all go together with a few times.</p><p>“Roman, I don’t think I want to go hang out where I work all the time.”</p><p>“I dunno, Nate, I think it sounds fun!”</p><p>“Yeah, I mean, you always say the cake is really good, babe. Not gonna lie I’ve been kinda jealous.”</p><p>“Look, why don’t we just go a group today, and if you hate it I’ll just go by myself from then on. I’ll pay for everyone, even-”</p><p>“Fine, fine! Let’s just go before it starts raining, I can see the clouds forming.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman can’t explain the feeling of <i>go go run bad</i> that he feels when they sit down to wait for their order, except that it’s very similar to when he’s about to get hit and has to dodge just a second before it lands. It’s a very <i>not good</i> feeling, and suddenly he feels like it was a bad idea to bring everyone here today.</p><p>He knows that Virgil is staring at him; when Roman’s hackles are raised there’s usually a very good reason to be worried, but so far he can’t see any real threats. He gives Virgil a quick tap on the back of his hand and pointedly looks up without moving his head.</p><p>
  <i>Be ready. Don’t look obvious.</i>
</p><p>They’ve made a lot of small signals for each other over the years. He knows Virgil will get it, so he continues searching the room while trying to seem like he’s just casually checking the place out.</p><p>Virgil wraps and arm around his shoulders, and grabs Roman’s hand under the table to point his thumb in the direction to look. The sudden movement gets them a few weird looks, but only from their friends, who Know Virgil isn’t exactly the cuddly type. They move on pretty quickly though, realizing it’s something important, and that they’ll get the details later.</p><p>Roman glances to their left, where Virgil had told him to look. It’s a small group of entirely too well-dressed individuals for this kind of setting, and they’re discussing something in hushed voices. They wouldn’t exactly set off any red flags normally, despite how they’re dressed, but Roman has spent a lot of time around thugs in his life. He knows the look of someone who’s about to do something awful but isn’t worried about much besides being caught.</p><p>He can’t really hear what they’re saying over all of the other sounds inside, but he makes sure to keep an eye on them for as long as he can be discreet about it. They leave not much later, and Roman waits until he can’t see them through the windows anymore to quickly check out their booth. He’s already told everyone to start heading home, that he’ll catch up in a minute. None of them look very eager to do so, but he supposes there was enough urgency in his tone to not warrant debate.</p><p>There’s nothing, at first. Nothing on the seats or under them, nothing below the table. He decides to crouch and look for anything stuck to the underside of the table, and still nothing apparent. They’d left some garbage to be picked up, which was a dick move on their part, but he has a hunch. Gently lifting one of the discarded napkins, there’s something small and metallic. Barely bigger than a nickel, hardly intimidating, and yet he knows it’s nothing good. More searching yields three more identical objects. Very gingerly, he scoops them all into his hands, and hurries outside.</p><p> </p><p>Having absolutely no idea what they are doesn’t help his mounting anxiety about them, but he decides that worst come, he wants to minimize the damage. He forms a small barrier around the items and holds it close to his chest. There’s really only one person he knows who might be able to help, so he calls Virgil to tell him he won’t be back for a while, and to just go home.</p><p>He needs to see Logan. </p><p>. . . </p><p>“And you said you found these in an establishment called The Dusted Maple?”</p><p>“Yeah. No idea what they’d want to do to a bakery, though.”</p><p>“It has a few ties to the villain community.”</p><p>“What? You mean like, a bunch of supervillains go to trade weapons or something?”</p><p>“Nothing quite so obvious, no. But there are reasons for individuals to want to invade or spy upon it.”</p><p>“Spy? So what are those things, then? Tiny cameras?”</p><p>“More like miniature drones. I imagine they were meant to be swept away without anyone noticing them, and then they would search the building once it was empty.”</p><p>Well… that posed a lot of possibilities, and not a lot of them good. But, as a hero, it isn’t really his job to resolve conflicts between villain groups. Just to make sure they don’t get civilians in the crossfire.</p><p>“...what do we do with them now, then?”</p><p>“I’ve deactivated them, so it doesn’t matter, I suppose. I could perhaps use them to discover what faction planted them, given a little time.”</p><p>“I don’t really care about that, to be honest. Since they aren’t tiny bombs like I thought, you can keep them, I guess. But my friends are probably pretty worried about me by now, so I’m leaving. Thanks for meeting with me, though.”</p><p>“Salutations.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan didn’t have to pretend to be concerned when Roman had called him, speaking in a rush. He hadn’t been willing to discuss the exact details over the phone; which was not unreasonable but did nothing to sate his worries. All Roman had said was that he had “found something suspicious” and needed to meet with him as soon as possible.</p><p>Thankfully Roman had <i>not</i> come across some deadly weapon or anything even remotely dangerous to his health. Not to say that the items he had found weren’t dangerous at all, but they were not a problem for anyone except Logan at the moment. It was possible that the goons had noticed the disappearance and deactivation of their drones already, but not likely. He should have some time. </p><p>All he needs to do is reactivate the devices once he is suitably prepared for their ‘discussion’. They will at the very least send someone to retrieve them that he could ask for directions to their boss.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan had had a few ideas of who might want to discover his identity or steal his schematics, but he’d never thought he would catch the eye of Annabelle Dellores. This wasn’t even her style, really - she typically just barges in and takes what she wants, or when lacking the muscle, buys it. The amount of money that children are allowed to play with these days is simply ridiculous. Though it is commonly reported by those unfortunate enough to come into contact that she has such an incredible amount of stubbornness and cruelty packed into such a small body that it is seemingly impossible to say no to her.</p><p>It hadn’t been difficult at all to get the information of who had employed those responsible for almost-break-in of his bakery, but now it is very apparent why. He could likely work for years and not be able to amass the resources to get anywhere near Miss Dellores. There was no point, even if he called upon as many favors as he was owed. Well, this was a dead-end, but the very least he could do was make sure she wouldn’t get any of the information she was looking for. </p><p>It would be satisfying, Logan knew, to have something that Miss Dellores wanted and could not have. Even if he wasn’t entirely sure what that was, at the moment.</p><p>. . .</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. You do it for him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Another new pov! This time with even more backstory, and MUCH more trauma! Isn't that exciting!?!?!?!?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Red, red, <i>red,</i> so much red, red fire and red blood and red red red, he can’t see anything but red, there’s so much-</p><p>Virgil jerks awake with the start of a scream in the back of his throat. He fights to keep it down, makes no sound save for his wheezing, choked breaths. </p><p>It takes him a few minutes to remember the breathing exercises he’d read about, taught himself to maintain, and moments still after that to actually <i>do it.</i> In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight - </p><p>...He remembers so little of that day, but he tries to hold onto them anyway. Roman can’t remember at all, can’t even picture the faces of his family any more, Virgil has to hold onto them for Roman’s sake. He’s been practicing, drawing the flashing images from his nightmares over and over again, until the day where he can perfectly capture it. It’s all so- so blurry, he probably has the eyes all wrong, and the hair styles, and a bunch of other stuff too. But he has an <i>idea<i> of what Mr. and Mrs. Devon had looked like, and he wants to be able to give that to his best friend. His brother. No matter how much Virgil wants to forget, he has to remember. He has to.</i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The beach, they’re going to the beach! And for a whole week, too!! Mama bought him a snorkel and the good kinda goggles too! And Roman’s family is all coming too- ‘cept his uncle Lo, for some reason. School stuff, papa says. Stupid school.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>They’re here they’re here <i>they’re finally here!!!</i> Virgil and his parents had gotten to the hotel first, and they’d been waiting for like, <i>hours</i> but now Ro was here, too! Mama says they have to wait to go to the beach, though, til they unpack their stuff. But he wants to go <i>nooooow!</i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Vee! Vee look, <i>they have a pool!!!</i>”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But the beach is like a really big pool, Ro! I wanna go to the really big pool!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh, <i>you’re right!</i> Momma, where are my swim shorts?!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Hold your horses, you two, we’ll go soon, okay? I promise, just sit and watch some tv for now, please?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>There’s a lot of noise outside. People are yelling so it’s probably a party! Virgil wants to see the party outside, but all the adults are saying they gotta stay inside now. They won’t even get to go to the beach today, maybe! What’s the point of coming here if they can’t see the beach party?</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Come on, Vee! Let’s go outside and see what’s goin’ on! Our ‘rents can stay inside and be boring by themselves.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah, let’s go! Quiet though. Gotta be sneaky…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman nodded with a very serious look on his face. “Like ninjas.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Outside, everyone is running. Is it like a race? But no one’s even going in the same direction! What a dumb way to race.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>And there’s superheroes! He knows these ones, but he can’t remember their names. But he <i>knows</i> their outfits, he has their action figures at home! </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“C’mon Ro, let’s watch the fight! The party can wait!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah!! It’s Yellow Beetle and that one guy from the juice commercial!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Ooohhhh, that’s her name! I knew I knew her from somewhere…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Uh… Vee… I think we should go back inside. That villain looks <i>super</i> tough. There’ll probably be a video of the fight on tv later…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I guess… Which way was the hotel again?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I dunno. That way?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You just pointed in a random direction, didn’t you?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No! ...Maybe.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Ro… that icecream stand- I saw it before! It was on our way up to the hotel- c’mon! It’s uh… this way from here, I’m sure!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Really? Then hurry up!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It’s… not there. The hotel isn’t where Virgil remembers it being. There’s just a bunch of dust in the air and fire trucks everywhere. There’s yellow tape all across the road Virgil remembers walking on earlier- did the villain blow it up?</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>They can probably find another way, but he thought he’d see the hotel by now. It was super big and tall, It should be right ahead!</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I think we went the wrong way, Ro.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Aw, really? But this felt like the right way… are you sure?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah. Remember the hotel was super tall? We should be able to see it by now if it was here…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh… we could ask someone? I left my soda in the room, I really wanna get it…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah, someone has to know where it is... “</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“There’s a bunch of policemen, they’re probably really good with directions! Cause they gotta find people when they call them all the time!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“They’re probably super busy, though, arresting the villain!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman looked thoughtful for a moment, and spun around in a circle a couple times, looking all over the place.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Uhm.. then… I dunno! You think of something!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Fine! Uh- wait! That family- they were in the hotel earlier!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What? I never saw them.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It was before you got there, duh.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mr. and Mrs. Ovanni were very nice people. They said that the hotel was gone, which was <i>weird</i> cause how could a whole building just disappear like that? But they said they’d help them look for their parents. Most of the people in the hotel had gotten out before it went away.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What do you mean, most of them?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Ah… well… some people had rooms on very high floors, and didn’t get to the lobby in time…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What? Like the whole building just disappeared with them inside it? Where’d it go?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“We can, uhm… talk about that later. What do your moms and dads look like?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . . </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It’s dark out, now. Mr. and Mrs. Ovanni couldn't find either Ro or his parents, so they took them to another, less cool hotel to stay for the night while Mr. Ovanni talked to the police. Because the police should know, they said. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Why can’t we come with? If our parents are there we should go, too!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mrs. Ovanni looked very upset about something, and told them that they just couldn’t. It’s late, they need to rest. They shouldn’t be outside when it’s dark. The villain might still be out there, no one knows if they were caught yet.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Uggh…. fiiiine! C’mon Vee, help me find the tv remote!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>When Mr. Ovanni had left, Mrs. Ovanni tried to put together a sort-of dinner with a bunch of microwaved stuff, for them. Their son, Remy, had stolen one of the beds and gone to bed forever ago, but Virgil wasn’t ready to sleep yet and Roman felt the same way.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Virgil knows he isn’t supposed to hear what adults say when they’re whispering, but he does, anyway. Roman had fallen asleep eventually, but Virigil just felt too… too much, to really do anything but lie down and close his eyes for a bit.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“They said there was no report filed for missing children matching their description, honey. What if they’re…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I know, but we can’t jump to conclusions. If it really comes to that… we’ll have to tell them, of course, but…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“We don’t know how they’ll react. Yeah, they can’t be much younger than our Remy…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>What if they’re <i>what?</i> What are they even talking about? Had their parents not come looking for them, yet? Were they hurt, or just didn’t know where to look? He can’t ask, though. When an adult whispers about something, that means it’s rude to ask about it. But he thinks talking about someone else’s parents without them knowing is pretty rude, too.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...He tells Roman what he heard, outside the hotel. It was kinda hard to sneak out, but he doesn’t want Mr. and Mrs. Ovanni to know that he overheard them.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...What do you think it means, Ro?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I’m… not sure. Doesn’t sound good, though.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What’re you guys doing? You aren’t supposed to leave the room…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The Ovannis’ kid seemed to appear out of nowhere, which was kinda freaky.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“None of your business.” Virgil doesn’t think Ro needed to stick his tongue out like that, but his friend does that a lot.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Okay. Uh… you should come back, though.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I think we’re fine where we are, thanks.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Remy turned to look at him, now.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Are you sure? ‘Cause my parents are already freaking out cause they can’t find you.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What!? But we were really sneaky!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...no you weren’t.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>This hotel really sucks. He doesn’t have any of his other clothes or any of the things he’d brought, and Remy’s stuff is too big. The shirt feels all baggy and he has to keep pulling the shorts up.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I wanna go home, Vee! Uncle Lo is supposed to be here tomorrow, he can take us back.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah. We can go back to where the hotel was tomorrow and find him!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Alright, but we <i>really</i> need a map or something if we’re gonna find where it was, this time.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . . </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Virgil’s kinda surprised they made it back so quickly, but this time they <i>had</i> taken one of the “travel guides” from the hotel’s lobby. Though Roman had almost spilled his entire water bottle on it a few times… They’d also had to ask a few people if they were on the right street, ‘cause it was a little hard to read some of the street signs.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“So we just… sit here and wait, then?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I mean… yeah. I dunno <i>when</i> he’s supposed to get here, exactly. The car ride wasn’t that long, though! He’s probably already on his way…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The sun is setting. Virgil is hungry and tired, and his legs are sore from sitting in the same spot even when he gets up to walk around a bit every while.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...You sure he’s supposed to be here <i>today?</i> It could have been tomorrow…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No! I’m sure it’s today! Mama said he would get here <i>today.</i> Maybe he’s just lost or something… or his car broke.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Cars don’t just <i>break</i> Ro.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah they do!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I mean, Lo would be able to fix it though, wouldn’t he?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...yeah…”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman suggests that they walk up and down the street a bit, to see if maybe Lo had gotten the address wrong, or if anyone had seen him.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>No one has, and they don’t find him either.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...We should go back to Mr. and Mrs. Ovanni. I’m tired, Ro.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No- just a little longer, please, Vee? We just need to wait a little longer, I know it! We can sit down though, if you want...”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...fine.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>They find a bench to sit, (or in Virgil’s case, lie down) on and wait a while longer. A little while turns into a long while, and soon Virgil really can’t stay awake any longer. He knows Roman will wake him up if something happens, so he lets himself fall asleep right there.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It isn’t dark anymore when he wakes up. It’s morning, but pretty early. Roman isn’t on the bench with him, and Virgil wonders just how long he was asleep. Where would Ro have gone, though?</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Roman…? Ro? Ro-!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh! You’re awake- good! I thought you would sleep forever, Vee! I just went to refill our bottles, cause I saw a fountain!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Lo still isn’t here?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman doesn’t say anything, but Virgil can guess what the answer is.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Can we go back to Mr. and Mrs. Ovanni, now?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I- I guess so. You still have the map?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mrs. Ovanni actually <i>cries</i> when she sees them again, which is super weird and Virgil doesn’t think he’s ever seen an adult cry before, which makes it even <i>more weird.</i> Mr. Ovanni seems kinda mad, but mostly relieved, and asks where they went. Neither of them wants to talk about it, so they just say they went for a walk and got lost. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Later, Remy tells them he knows that they didn’t just “go for a walk” but he won’t say anything if they don’t run away again. They’re too tired to argue with him about it, and just agree.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mr and Mrs. Ovanni say that they have something to talk about with them, and tell Remy to sit outside for a minute. It doesn’t really seem like a fun talk, but Virgil knows they can’t really get out of it. They’re probably in trouble for leaving without telling them. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Thinking about it now, Virgil feels kind of stupid for thinking that was what the Ovannis had wanted to talk about, but he also knows that he was a very stupid six year old, so he doesn’t worry too much about it. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman had been the first to cry, which both was and wasn’t surprising. That has set Virgil off, too, and the whole thing had become a mess.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He can’t remember exactly what happened afterwards, but he knows where they ended up. Running away, <i>again</i>, getting horribly lost and never finding their way home again. Not that there <i>was</i> a home for them, anymore. Sometimes Virgil wonders what happened to Roman’s uncle, but finds he doesn’t really care. If the guy had never come looking for them, never made some sort of public statement, he couldn’t have cared that much.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>One thing he still laughs about to this day, is that they actually met Remy again, years later. It had been a silly chance thing, is all. Virgil liked to go on the library computers whenever he could, just to play games or read articles, and to discreetly listen to other people’s conversations. It was a bad habit, but not one he regrets. Because he’d heard someone say a name, a very <i>familiar</i> name.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Remington Ovanni, if you don’t shut the hell up right now, I <i>will</i> hit you with the biggest dictionary I can find.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Damn, okay, okay, I get it- look Nate, you don’t have to be so <i>mean</i> to me, you know-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What did I just say-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>And that was how he met perhaps the weirdest, but best group of friends he’s ever had. Remy had taken a minute to remember who he was, but when he did he was uh… maybe a bit upset.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Did I not tell you babes <i>not to run away again?</i> We thought you were dead or something! Do you know how much my mom cried- I swear if you don’t come with me and apologize to her right now you are going to <i>wish</i> I’d just killed you-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...Yeah. Maybe more than <i>a bit</i> upset. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Not like he’d change anything he’d done, though. Except for maybe running away with a lot more food and actual changes of clothes. Roman and him had grown a lot from having to be so independent. They would have probably gone into foster care, and ended up in different families. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Virgil pulls out his notebook, and tries to remember the shape of his mother’s face.</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Ring A Belle?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh, oh! Can he pick me up? He’s super strong, isn’t he?”</p><p>Roman really wishes they would stop talking <i>about</i> him and start talking <i>to him,</i> even if their requests are still rude and weird.</p><p>“Sure he can! Go on, Knight, pick her up. I’ve seen you move heavier stuff, though not by much, haha!”</p><p>Roman wishes more that Anny wouldn’t be so mean, though. If these are really her friends, those kinds of comments are <i>super</i> uncalled for. Even if they weren’t her friends, there wouldn’t be a reason to talk like that.</p><p><i>For Virgil,</i> he thinks. <i>You do this to keep him safe and happy, remember that</i>.</p><p>It isn’t hard to lift the girl up; she can’t weigh more than one-forty, maybe one-fifty. It’s like lifting a large bag of grapes, for him. They all <i>ooh</i> and <i>ahh</i> and the one he’s lifting (Tracy? Stacy? Who knows…) squeals excitedly. Someone says to “do the Simba move!” and Anny agrees wholeheartedly. Tracy-Stacy says no, she doesn’t want to fall, but with a pointed glare from Anny, they both know there isn’t much a choice.</p><p>Roman lifts her over his head, and the girl looks like she’s about to puke; he puts her down as gently as he can, whispering a quick apology.</p><p>The little “party” gets cut short when the tv blares a breaking news report - supervillain activity just a few blocks away from where they are now. There’s a faint plume of smoke rising over the horizon, now that they all look. Anny doesn’t seem very happy about it and tries to insist that other heroes can take care of it, but Mandy speaks up for him.</p><p>“Other heroes might not get there as quickly as the Knight can, right now. Just let him go, Anny. He can come back after and tell us all about it, can’t you Mister Knight?”</p><p>“Of course! Now I really do apologize, but evil isn’t going to kick it’s own ass, after all!”</p><p>...If Roman didn’t exactly <i>run</i> back to Anny’s place, taking some time to dust off his outfit and fix his hair along the way, Anny doesn’t comment on it.</p><p>. . .</p><p>He needs a <i>break.</i> From like, everything. And that’s saying something because Roman does <i>not</i> get tired easily. But running through three villain attacks in one day is not fun, especially when it means that he basically didn’t go to school today. They’re starting to call home, which is… not good.</p><p>He can’t even think of good excuses anymore, so he’s just stopped making them. When his teachers ask where he’s been, where he’d run off to, he just doesn’t respond. So Roman is really excited for spring break to happen, because that’s a full two weeks of catching up he can do without having to worry about any deadlines.</p><p>Virgil has reminded him a few times that he really doesn’t <i>need</i> school, as he basically already has a full-time job, and Roman can’t lie and say he hasn’t been considering dropping out, or at least just signing up for online courses instead. That would be much easier than this run-around he’s been doing so far. As much as he wants a normal life, he knows he doesn’t really… have one. Maybe… he’ll look into what online schools are available, tomorrow. Right now, he’s trying to power through the homework assignments Thomas had dropped by to give him and prays that the PowerPoint presentation gets pushed back or something.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Of course Roman isn’t lucky enough to make it to the break without being called to the office about his attendance issues. And they <i>called Logan to come in.</i></p><p>He must look pretty embarrassed when Logan walks in because he immediately asks what he did. </p><p>“I didn’t do anything! I just-”</p><p>“I’ll have to agree with Mr. Kingsley, in this situation. He hasn’t done anything, this is about what he has <i>not</i> been doing. Attending his classes.”</p><p>“...And what do you expect me to do about that?”</p><p>“Mr. Tebeau, as his guardian, you should be discouraging this behavior, and-”</p><p>“If I’d thought “this behavior” required disciplinary action, I assure you Roman would not have missed nearly as much school as I suspect he has.”</p><p>“...What are you saying, Mr. Tebeau?”</p><p>“I am saying that I have an endless, burning hatred for the public education system, and I would be <i>thrilled</i> if Roman took a better initiative for his education. Unfortunately, I am unable to homeschool him as my work is very demanding, and you have asked me to step away from it for <i>this?</i> I believe we will be going now. Roman?”</p><p>“Wha- uhm. Yeah, let’s… leave. Now.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>“I truly do not care whether or not you choose to attend your classes, Roman, but do know that I will not be “bailing you out” like this again.”</p><p>“Of course, yeah- I’m. Sorry, about all that. It’s just that… there’s been a lot of villain activity lately, and I’ve been skipping, so-”</p><p>“I was not lying about my opinions of public education, Roman. If you chose to stop going altogether I would happily take you out for a celebration.”</p><p>“...why do you hate school so much?”</p><p>“It is an uncaring, unsupportive system of individuals attempting to teach you information that is mostly useless for adult life - you especially. You would do well to learn the more practical aspects of living, instead of spending your time like this. I can appreciate wanting to expand your knowledge, but if that is the case there are a great deal of texts and professors I could point you to.”</p><p>“Uh… thanks, Logan, but it’s not really about that. I was just… trying to be kinda normal, is all. Do normal teenager things.”</p><p>“Then go spray-paint the side of a building and go drink at parties where no one is legally allowed to do so. You don’t need school to be “normal,” Roman.”</p><p>Roman takes a moment to think about it. They’re walking through the parking lot, though he doesn’t know if Logan expects him to get in the car, too.</p><p>“I… I have been thinking about it. Dropping out, I mean.”</p><p>“Then let me put it this way: would you like to continue suffering under the weight of an impossible number of deadlines and lectures, or would you like to go and celebrate a new, self-made freedom?”</p><p>“...only if we’re getting pizza. No pineapple.” </p><p>“Very well.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman has been introduced to a new world of <i>amazing.</i> He hadn’t known barbecue was a sauce option for pizza, but Logan had suggested it and he had never tasted a better slice of pizza, bar none.</p><p>The place they were at was like a buffet, but you could still order food to go if you wanted. </p><p>“How’d you even find this place? I’ve never heard of it.”</p><p>“It’s fairly new, I believe. I just happen to take a lot of walks through the city when I’m bored or need a break from projects.”</p><p>“Yeah- do you actually have a job? Like, besides all the… you know. Evil stuff.”</p><p>“I own a small bakery, though I run in remotely.”</p><p>“Really? You don’t seem the type.”</p><p>“I didn’t say we only sold pastries.”</p><p>
  <i>”Oh my god do you sell like, bombs disguised as cupcakes?”</i>
</p><p>“...no. That is- Roman, there are no words to describe how absurd that is.”</p><p>“Oh is it? You could be lying to me.”</p><p>“I fear for your investigative capabilities.”</p><p>“Well <i>I</i> fear for-”</p><p>Roman is interrupted by a very loud, very <i>familiar</i> notification sound. He’d set it that way, so as to never accidentally ignore it. The sound (rather appropriately) resembled funeral bells.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Anny&lt;<br/>
My place. Now. </b>
</p><p>“...Shit. I’m sorry, Logan- I need to go, like, yesterday.”</p><p>“May I ask what has come up?”</p><p>“I have an… employer, of sorts. She is very… impatient, and rude.”</p><p>“That sounds rather familiar, actually. Who is it?”</p><p>“...Her name is Anny. That’s all I can say, sorry, I <i>really</i> should go, how much do you think the bill is-”</p><p>“Don’t concern yourself with that. If I know your… employer, she will not tolerate any delays - certainly not for a social outing. We may resume another time if you want.”</p><p>“Yeah. Thanks, Lo- I’ll see you, then.”</p><p> </p><p>Roman runs about as fast as his legs will carry him, because when Anny doesn’t give any notice, it’s because she’s in a <i>really</i> bad mood.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Anny <i>is</i> in a bad mood, but for once she doesn’t seem particularly interested in talking about it. Most of the time when she gets like this, she wants to yell at him about how “unfair and mean” people are, and have everyone around her agree with whatever she says.</p><p>But today Anny just wants to throw things, apparently, at someone who won’t throw anything back, or, as she put it, won’t “die before I’m done playing.”</p><p>This, at least, is better than what he’s used to. If she wants to smash vases and paintings over his head, at least it doesn’t <i>really</i> hurt. He makes sure to form a thin, barely noticeable barrier above his head to avoid getting a bunch of pieces in his hair, though.</p><p>“You know, Anny- I know everyone is different, but-” right in the face, huh? He should have seen that coming, frankly, “-I know <i>I</i> always feel a lot better when I <i>talk</i> about what’s upsetting me.”</p><p>“What’s the POINT!? That won’t change anything!”</p><p>“Why don’t you tell me anyway.”</p><p>“Papa <i>promised</i> a picnic today!!! HE PROMISED!!! And <i>where</i> is he today!?! <i>In Utah, for a BUSINESS DEAL!</i>”</p><p>...Okay. Maybe he can do something with that. This is probably less about the picnic and more about getting to see her dad, but still…</p><p>“...Would you still like to go on a picnic, Anny?”</p><p>“Like I said, that didn’t- what?”</p><p>“Would you still like to go on a picnic today? We could have one, It’s barely noon.”</p><p>“I- I mean- no! Yes? I don’t know! I just wanted papa to keep his <i>promise!</i>”</p><p>“Sure, but just because he’s being a jerk and not following through doesn’t mean you can’t have a nice day, still.”</p><p>“...I guess. But it’s gonna suck without papa there.”</p><p>“Of course. We should pick up some birdseed, for the ducks.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>The one nice thing about going anywhere with Anny is that even in full costume, Roman doesn’t have to worry about a bunch of people crowding him, with her little entourage making essentially a forty-foot radius of “go away” for them. </p><p>She seems to be interested in getting the ducks to fight over food, throwing only a little at a time right in between two or three of them. He’d usually try to throw a bit at a time in piles slowly getting closer and closer to himself, in order to get them to eventually eat right out of his hand.</p><p>Anny does <i>not</i> have the same amount of patience for this, and would scare the ducks off before they even get halfway up the shore. He tried to tell her that the animals didn’t understand what she was yelling and stomping about, but that was a lost cause.</p><p>When she instead focuses on the fruit salad she’d bought for herself for a while, Roman quietly encourages a smaller mallard to get right up onto their blanket, and tries to keep it as calm as possible with food and some neck scratches, as he quietly scoots over to Anny.</p><p>For once, she remains silent and only copies Roman, gently petting and scratching the duck's neck and under the bill, which their little friend is <i>very</i> pleased with.</p><p>“I wanna take it home.”</p><p>“...I don’t think this guy is much of a domestic pet.”</p><p>“I’ll get it trained, then.”</p><p>“Anny there are plenty of actually domesticated ducks you could adopt.”</p><p>“But this one’s <i>special.</i>”</p><p>“I know I can’t really stop you, but I really think the duck would be happier with its family.”</p><p>“I’ll find its family and bring them, too, then.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Anny does not, in fact, take the duck home, but only because suddenly picking it up and walking away from the pond made it <i>very</i> unhappy and Roman only narrowly kept it from biting her. </p><p>She does seem to be in a better mood, though. When they return to her home she tells him he can leave, unless he wants to be responsible for finding her “another, better duck.”</p><p>He takes the hint well enough and leaves, surprised that he was even walking out of there before sunset. Logan had sent him a text a while ago, asking what exactly his “employer” had wanted.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
A picnic, surprisingly. </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Necktie&lt;<br/>
So I assume we are avoiding the discussion about how you are “employed” by one of the top villains in the city, then?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
What? </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Necktie&lt;<br/>
Annabelle Dollores, a.k.a. “Coral Wasp”. Were you not aware?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
She’s WHAT</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Rings A Bell.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Get ready to sob in this chapter! :D</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>So I assume we are avoiding the discussion about how you are “employed” by one of the top villains in the city, then?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>What? </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>Annabelle Dollores, a.k.a. “Coral Wasp”. Were you not aware?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>She’s WHAT</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>Perhaps we should have this discussion in person.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Kingsley&lt;<br/>YEAH MAYBE WE SHOULD.</b>
</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan had not been entirely sure what to think when he had put together that Roman was somehow working for arguably the most powerful supervillain on the east coast, but things were beginning to make more sense, considering Roman’s reaction over the phone.</p><p>The Coral Wasp’s secret identity was widespread in the villain community, sure, but amongst civilians and heroes with no government ties, it is still generally unknown.</p><p>Deciding that this was a matter requiring a level of security they weren’t going to find anywhere public, Logan informed Roman that they would be meeting at his residence, this time. “It’s only fair, after all. I’ve known your home address for months.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan has never thought his apartment was very much to look at, but Roman seems to disagree.</p><p>“Oh my <i>god</i> the ceiling is so high up!!! And this room is almost as much space as I have on two floors put together!”</p><p>“Yes, I believe they are called luxury apartments for a reason. I just thought this was a convenient location.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah- whatever, I’m not here to like, ask what your salary is anyway, what do you know about Anny?”</p><p>“...Not as much as you are hoping, most likely. Just sit down and listen for a moment, please.”</p><p>...Logan chooses not to comment on Roman putting his feet up on the table. He has done the same thing many times, from his desk chair.</p><p>“Coral Wasp - or “Anny” is less of an agent of evil, and more so an agent of chaos.  As far as anyone can tell, she does not cause harm for the sake of hurting others, but rather she does not care about the consequences of getting what she wants. And what she wants is everything. There aren’t any records of the Wasp doing any fieldwork herself, though there were a few small appearances at the beginning of her villain career. There have been no alliances or wars between her organization and others, but there are many rumors of some compliance between her and River Walliums. They’re both powerful leaders of essentially a small country’s army, so it makes sense they’d want to avoid too much conflict. Other than that, Coral Wasp’s record consists mostly of theft and some large-scale vandalization.”</p><p>“...That all sounds… really in character. I can’t even lie and say I don’t think Anny would just steal what she wanted if someone wouldn’t give or sell it to her.”</p><p>“Indeed. Now, may I ask what exactly she “employs” you for?”</p><p>“...It’s really stupid.”</p><p>“I don’t doubt it.”</p><p>“She knows my real identity, and uses it as leverage to get me to show up as the Red Knight for her little get-togethers, so she can show off.”</p><p>“...That sounds like blackmail, not a job.”</p><p>“Well she <i>does</i> pay me. I just wouldn’t do it if she wasn’t <i>also</i> blackmailing me.”</p><p>“That is still not a job.”</p><p>“...Yeah, I guess not. But I can’t really stop, regardless. You know why people like us need to keep our faces away from the public.”</p><p>“Of course - though in that case, you should consider a mask that covers more than 20 percent of your face.”</p><p>“Hey! Not everyone can just make a mask to cover everything from the neck up that also fits their aesthetic!” </p><p>“That is hardly-”</p><p>He is interrupted by the sound of his front door being unlocked and opened - giving Patton a key had seemed to be the only way to avoid biweekly door reconstruction.</p><p>“Hey Logie-bear, I was wondering what you wanted to do for- oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were having a guest over!”</p><p>“...It is fine, Patton. We were just done talking anyways, come on it.”</p><p>“Uh… yeah. Wanna tell me who this is, <i>Logie-bear</i>?”</p><p>Roman’s thinly veiled grin was rather infuriating, but Logan can’t punch him with Patton standing right there, so he chooses to ignore it.</p><p>“Roman Kingsley, meet Patton Mecking, my neighbor. Patton, this is my… nephew, Roman.”</p><p>“Oh, you didn’t tell me you had a <i>nephew!!</i> It’s so nice to meet you, Roman!”</p><p>“The feeling is mutual, uh… should I call you Mr. Mecking, orr..”</p><p>“You can just call me Patton, kiddo, none of that “Mr.” stuff- Lo and I are friends, after all!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Letting these two be anywhere near each other for any length of time was bound to end in disaster.</p><p>“Wow...uh… you sure are strong, aren’t you kiddo?”</p><p>“Hahah… guess I don’t know my own strength…”</p><p>Patton had insisted he make them all tea, and while Logan had been aware of his arachnophobia, he hadn’t thought Patton would shriek so loudly upon discovering what was likely a common wall spider. Roman had evidently gone into “fight the danger” mode and punched the spot on the wall Patton had been incessantly pointing at, like that would make the creature disappear.</p><p>The resulting hole left made it seem as though he had punched through nothing more than a slab of drywall, rather than actual <i>brick and plaster</i>. </p><p>“I think that’s a little more than just not knowing your strength, kiddo. You wouldn’t happen to… you know... have a magnesium heart, would ya?”</p><p>Now <i>there’s</i> an interesting term. Logan’s never heard of it before, but he could guess as to what it means. Roman’s response only confirmed his suspicions:</p><p>“...You wouldn’t know to ask like that if you didn’t, also. But it’s okay, Logan knows - you don’t have to be weird about it.”</p><p>“Well that’s a relief! Though I guess that means I really shouldn’t have asked, silly me.”</p><p>Logan had never considered that Patton might be boosted - he didn’t seem like the type to make that sort of gamble. Whatever it was obviously wasn’t a physical transformation, but it would be rude to pry when he’d clearly only asked out of a worry that Roman had gotten himself boosted without any guidance from an adult. Which he had, but Roman likely hasn’t needed parental advice in a long time.</p><p>“...If you do not wish to discuss this further Patton, you don’t have to. In fact, I think we could all do with some of that tea, at this point.”</p><p>“...Thanks, Lo. I think I’ll get on that.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>The amiable silence as they settled into the living room with their tea was very nice. It wasn’t long before Patton and Roman had struck up an idle conversation, that somehow turned to his and Logan’s supposed shared family.</p><p>“Yeah, my parents kinda… left the picture a long time ago, so now Logan takes care of me. Though I spend most of my time with friends and stuff, cause he’s always so busy with work.”</p><p>The ease with which both of them constantly pile onto this lie was a little concerning, he was almost afraid he might start to forget details they had affirmed to other people, but so far nothing has come of it, and it’s not like he could stop Roman now.</p><p>“Well at least you have <i>someone</i> kiddo, that’s what matters. You know, I might just be taking a shot in the dark here, but Lo- you have a lot of baby stuff. Those are probably Roman’s, right?”</p><p>“I- ah, yes….. They are. I just… haven’t found anything to do with them, yet.”</p><p>“Ooooooh! Roman, have you <i>seen</i> how tiny baby feet are? You have to show him those little booties, Lo!”</p><p>“Wait, you had a ba- I mean, you <i>kept</i> my baby things?”</p><p>“You didn’t <i>know?!?!</i> Now you <i>really</i> have to show him!!”</p><p>“...I suppose I do.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>“Woooaaah… you were right, Pat! These clothes are <i>so tiny!</i> This is <i>adorable.</i>”</p><p>“What about pictures? Do you have any of his baby pictures, Lo?”</p><p>“...somewhere.”</p><p>He <i>really</i> wants this whole… situation to end, preferably <i>now.</i> It is… upsetting, to reminisce like this on a regular day,  but he’s never… Logan has not willingly shown the contents of these boxes to <i>anyone</i> before.</p><p>“Oh, I think I found em’, Patton! It’s a pretty cheesy looking album, anyways. Let’s see-”</p><p>Roman had begun flipping through the pages, cooing and giggling along with Patton, but he seemed to pause at some of the last pages.</p><p>“Yeah, these… these look. Familiar, kinda. I mean, I don’t remember much of what I looked like back then, but… oh. Wait. What? That- that one’s definitely… That’s Virgil. How do you have pictures of…”</p><p>“Is Virgil one of your childhood friends? If it’s that one wearing a bunch of purple, he’s in a lot of these photos with you, Roman.”</p><p>“Yeah… we’re. Basically brothers, haha…” </p><p>“Well, that’s nice- oh, when did the sun get so low? I need to get a start on dinner- I assume you’re staying for it, Roman?”</p><p>“Uh. Sure.”</p><p>“Alright! Hope you like pasta, cause I have a <i>lot</i> of noodles that need to get cooked before they take over my cabinet!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>There’s… Roman doesn’t know how to react to this. He doesn’t remember anything from his childhood, nothing before he was six or seven, really, but these are <i>definitely</i> pictures of him and Virgil. But there’s no way Logan should have these photos, no way he <i>could</i> have them-</p><p>Once Patton leaves the bedroom they had been searching through all this stuff in, Roman closes the album, for his own sanity.</p><p>“How.”</p><p>Logan doesn’t look like he’s feeling too great about this, either.</p><p>“...I don’t know what you mean.”</p><p>“<i>I mean-</i> how did you get these photos? These- these are actually pictures of <i>me,</i> and I need to know how the hell you got them.”</p><p>“I’ve had them for years. They aren’t of you, they’re of-” Logan takes a deep breath, as if <i>he’s</i> the one who’s freaking out right now, “-of my… actual nephew, who died a long time ago. Please- leave this alone.”</p><p>“No- no! I think I know what I looked like, and that-” He slams the album back open to a page with two smiling young boys staring back at him, “it my friend, Virgil! I’ve known him forever, I know- I <i>know</i> that’s him! You- you stole these from somewhere, or- or <i>bought them</i> maybe, you-”</p><p>“Roman, <i>please,</i> I-” Logan stops himself, and he- He looks at Roman, is a way that- It’s so <i>weird,</i> he feels like he’s being- analyzed or something- “Roman. I need you to answer this question truthfully, please. No- no half-truths, or lies of omission- is your surname… really Kingsley?”</p><p>“...Yes. It is. I- I changed it, a while back, though.”</p><p>“What <i>was</i> your surname, then?”</p><p>“Devon.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>That can’t- no, no he <i>can’t</i> be- this Roman <i>cannot</i> be <i>his</i> Roman, because that would mean- that would mean that we wasn’t dead- that would mean that he had <i>lived,</i> and that- while Logan had- while he had been… wallowing, trying to forget the insurmountable grief that he felt, Roman had- <i>he had been alone, all that time.</i> That he had- from such a young, young age- and Logan hadn’t even <i>looked,</i> hadn’t- demanded more <i>proof-</i></p><p>“...I don’t- I really don’t remember… I- was really young, when it happened, but Virgil has… told me some things. And I… I have dreams, about looking for someone. We were- our families were in an accident, in Queens…”</p><p>“The Rockaway hotel.”</p><p>“Right on Rockaway beach. A villain attack.”</p><p>“You were- you were looking for someone. Who was supposed to arrive Wednesday afternoon, right?”</p><p>“Yeah. And he- he never came, so we… we were alone. Me and Virgil… we ended up okay, though.”</p><p>“No- You- You <i>didn’t,</i> because you felt like getting <i>boosted</i> was your best option-”</p><p>When had his glasses gotten so foggy? He takes them off, to clean them, but it- everything’s still so- and his face is wet, he- he’s crying. He’s crying, isn’t he?</p><p>“Yeah, and <i>you</i> stopped caring so much you became a <i>villain,</i> I’m not- god, I at least- me and Virgil had <i>eachother,</i> when there wasn’t anything else but- fuck, you lost <i>everyone.</i>”</p><p>“And you were <i>six years old,</i> Roman!”</p><p>“Goddammit, just-” Roman seemed unable to finish his thought, instead opening his arms and waving them a little incessantly at Logan. </p><p>He understood easily. <i>Just come here and hug me, idiot.</i></p><p>...When Patton found them like that a little later, sobbing and holding each other like the emotional idiots they are, he didn’t bother asking if Roman would prefer his pasta on a plate or in a bowl.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Crash at mine?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Finally a little friggin' progression, amirite?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roman couldn’t really make up a good excuse to tell Virgil why he wasn’t coming home for the night, so he didn’t bother. Though that might have been the wrong call, as Virgil immediately demanded to know where he was, and said that he would be over as soon as he could.</p><p>He doesn’t really know why his friend had sounded so upset, but then again, Roman had only barely stopped crying himself when he called, so he doesn’t exactly have a place to judge. </p><p>There was… so much to unpack, so much to talk about, that they really couldn’t find a place to start. It was awkward, yeah, but Roman also knew that they couldn’t just leave things as they were. Some things needed to be clarified, and if Logan had half as many questions as he did right now, they could probably talk for days on end and not even scratch the surface. So he chose to get the most painful question out of the way first.</p><p>“Why didn’t you come to the hotel when you had said?”</p><p>“...The news broadcast said that you had all… perished. In the hotel's collapse. I couldn’t bring myself to... to go and see the wreckage myself.”</p><p>“Oh. Yeah… that uh. That. Makes sense.” It also made Roman feel incredibly stupid for asking.</p><p>“What… where did you two go? Surely someone should have noticed you were alone?”</p><p>“One family tried to help… we’re still friends with them now, even, but we sorta… ran away. When we found out, our parents were dead.”</p><p>“So you were really…”</p><p>“On the streets for about 9 years? Yeah.”</p><p>“I don’t believe I could… possibly apologize to you enough, for what you had to go through.”</p><p>“It’s really not your fault, I- I don’t think I would have wanted to come, either.”</p><p>“...I still cannot help but feel responsible, for being so careless.”</p><p>“Well… what about you? What- what did you do, when you found out?”</p><p>“I spent a lot of time… not doing much, really. I met a friend who helped me get through the worst days, but that wasn’t until a few years later. I got my degree and threw myself into work, and eventually, I began working with and for villains; I hadn’t realized for a long time that I had really become one myself, but when I did I chose to embrace it.”</p><p>“...You were never evil though. You may have turned against the law, but not humanity. There’s always a difference.”</p><p>“I know. Just as you didn’t choose to side with the law as a hero, just to defend those still restrained by it.”</p><p>It couldn’t have been ten full minutes since he had called Virgil, and now he’d just received a text asking which apartment they were in.</p><p>“-Oh, I think you need to uh.. buzz him in.”</p><p>“Of course...”</p><p>. . . </p><p>“Welcome to the par-”</p><p>
  <i>”Roman what the hell were you thinking?”</i>
</p><p>“I- uh. Excuse me?”</p><p>Virgil, upon entering the front door, had first taken a moment to scan the room, and was not dragging him out into the hall <i>wait what’s going on here-</i></p><p>“Even if this is who you said it is, <i>why</i> are you still <i>here with him!?</i>”</p><p>“...what are you talking about, Vee? Is something going on, or-”</p><p>“What’s going on is that you have been hanging around the guy who <i>abandoned you,</i> and for <i>months,</i> apparently, without <i>telling anyone!</i>”</p><p>“Well, first of all, I don’t think I am emotionally capable of dealing with your shouting right now, and <i>second,</i> Virgil- he did not <i>abandon</i> us, he thought we were dead, and I don’t blame-”</p><p>“So you’re just going to believe whatever sad story he told you, yeah?”</p><p>
  <i>”Virgil you are being ridiculous-”</i>
</p><p>“<i>I’m</i> being ridiculous? You haven’t known him since we were <i>six,</i> how do you know he hasn’t changed, what if-”</p><p>“<i>Of course</i> he’s changed, Vee! But so have we, right? I mean, I just think you’re being a little paranoid, is all, at least <i>talk</i> to Lo first! See for yourself!”</p><p>“It isn’t being <i>paranoid</i> if there’s a legitimate reason to worry, Roman! He didn’t even <i>try</i> to look for us!”</p><p>“Would <i>you?</i> What are the chances we would have survived if we hadn’t run outside when we did? We were <i>lucky,</i> and we didn’t exactly go to the local news station about it, we ran away in a city where no one knew who we were!”</p><p>“I just- you don’t remember what that <i>felt like,</i> Roman! And I’m glad that you don’t, obviously, but <i>I do!</i> I remember waiting for days outside because you were <i>so sure</i> he was coming, you just kept wanting to stay just a little longer- and it was- Roman, we were scared, thinking something might have happened to him, or that we’d gotten the day wrong!”</p><p>“I- yes, Virgil, I know I don’t… have the greatest memory of what happened, but we aren’t the only ones who were hurt! Lo lost everyone too, but he didn’t have <i>anyone</i> who understood! We’ve always been able to support each other and keep the other going when it was hard, but Lo didn’t have anyone to share the grief! Please, just- talk to him, give him a chance, for <i>my sake,</i> at least?”</p><p>“...okay, Roman. For you.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay conscious and aware enough to have another emotionally-charged discussion tonight, so he mostly let Virgil and Logan go back and forth between themselves, while he settled a little more snugly into the couch. Everything was… slowing down. He felt just on the verge of sleep, but unable to cross the threshold. He felt so… light, barely present even. It was a good feeling though, and it’s happened before.</p><p>There’s something warm at his side, now- Virgil? Probably. He leans into it, and lets himself fall as deeply into the not-sleep as he can.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Virgil knew the signs of when Roman’s body was acting weird on him by now. A lot of it is boost-related, some not. Sometimes he can’t slow down and stop moving even if he wants to, and all they can do is let him run it off. Other times he slows down very quickly, either being aware but out of it for hours, or just passing out where he’s standing; coffee or other forms of caffeine don’t do much, so they try to get him somewhere comfortable before Roman is basically an immovable log.</p><p>He sighs as he looks at Roman. because he knows they’re going to have to <i>stay the night,</i> now. So Virgil scoots over to Roman’s side of the couch and settles in to stay up all night. He isn’t going to leave his friend defenseless in essentially a stranger’s house, because no matter how much he wants to, for Roman’s sake, he just can’t bring himself to trust Logan yet. </p><p>Definitely not yet, hopefully in the future.</p><p>. . .</p><p>It’s not like Logan had planned for two teenagers to fall asleep on his couch that night, (or one is asleep, the other pretending but not very convincingly) but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. He offered blankets and pillows which was grudgingly accepted, and decided that they’d all be better off if he slept upstairs for the night.</p><p>As he began to climb the first few steps, he felt like… something should be said. What that something was eluded him, however.</p><p>“...There’s only one door with a round handle, that’s my bedroom. Anywhere else you may feel free to explore, Virgil. Goodnight.”</p><p>There was no response. Not that he had expected one.</p><p>. . .</p><p>No one could blame him for doing a <i>little</i> snooping, especially not when Logan had blatantly said that he could. </p><p>Besides the sizable living room and kitchen, there was a bathroom, a closet with a washer and dryer in it, and the bedroom Logan had mentioned. He didn’t go inside, exactly, he just opened the door a little to peek inside. Nothing special. It looked very untouched, actually.</p><p>Well… that left only one other place to go. Upstairs. Logan had banned the bedroom, but nowhere else. There could be a ton of stuff up there they weren’t aware of. Had Roman ever been up there, before? What could Logan be hiding? Probably nothing. Virgil certainly <i>hopes</i> it isn’t anything, because then he would have to deal with it alone. And if going up there pissed Logan off, he wouldn’t exactly be able to just carry Roman out of there.</p><p>His feet move before he can make a decision, and he carefully pads up the staircase.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan wasn’t ready to go to sleep, exactly, so he’d dug up one of his older projects that shouldn’t make as much noise as he works.</p><p>It was meant to be a modified roomba that could clean vertical surfaces as well, but he had never had the time to perfect the method of how to make it get back down by itself, as there wasn’t anything to bump into on his walls, and the ceilings are very high up. </p><p>His spatial awareness may not be the <i>best</i> when he’s in the middle of a project, but Logan was very surprised that someone had managed to sneak up on him, nonetheless. </p><p>“...what are you doing?”</p><p>He came <i>very</i> close to causing a rather unfortunate accident involving a Philips head screwdriver and open socket. </p><p>“Virgil! I did not- ah. Expect you to come up here, so late- I am just… working on a little “pet project”, is all.”</p><p>“Your pet project involving a… trashed roomba?”</p><p>“It is not <i>trashed,</i> I have dismantled it for modification.”</p><p>“What kind of modification, exactly? Pretty sure the swearing roomba didn’t require <i>that</i> much work.”</p><p>“Swearing- I am not attempting to make a cleaning device that swears, I am trying to adjust it for traversing vertical surfaces.”</p><p>“...so you’re making a wall roomba?”</p><p>“An over-simplification, but essentially yes. Would you care to watch?”</p><p>“I guess.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>The thing about breakfast muffins is that it’s kinda difficult for Patton to just make a few at a time, like cookies. You don’t just make <i>one</i> cookie, you make two dozen! He can’t just make <i>one</i> batch of muffins, though, because he has such a big oven, that only putting in one muffin tray at a time looks weird; so he makes three batches at once, and he struggled to decide how best to bring them all over to Logan’s place at once.</p><p>Through the use of several small baskets, he was able to do so, but upon entering through Lo’s front door, he didn’t see anyone- oh! Except Roman, apparently. </p><p>Poor kiddo had probably fallen asleep on the couch, but was now mostly on the floor, just one leg stubbornly caught in a blanket up on the cushions. Logan was probably upstairs, then, so he was either working or had fallen asleep while working, neither of which would be very good for him.</p><p>Well, he can’t let Roman keep sleeping on the floor, at least. Setting down the many small baskets of muffins in the kitchen, Patton carefully steps over and shakes Roman by the shoulder gently.</p><p>“Ro… come on, if you wanna keep sleeping we can get you to a real bed, okay?”</p><p>No response. Well, he’d been a bit of a heavy sleeper too, as a teenager.</p><p>“Roman, time to get up! I brought muffins, too, if you want breakfast, up an’ attem!”</p><p>Wow, the kiddo isn’t even grumbling and telling him to close the curtains yet,  he must be really knocked out… well, Patton could probably move him back up onto the couch, at least. The task wasn’t especially difficult, but Roman was in a pretty awkward position, and the fact that he wasn’t stirring at all was getting a tad… concerning.</p><p>It’s just habit, he tells himself. Unresponsive people can often be dangerous, and he’s just done it so many times that he can’t help moving his hand to check Roman’s pulse as he finishes settling him back onto the couch. </p><p>For a moment, there’s nothing, and there’s a powerful, indistinct feeling of panic before he feels a faint beat under his fingers. He pauses and holds his breath. Another few seconds pass, and there’s another beat. So slow, unbelievably, <i>dangerously</i> slow, and no response still, no matter how much shaking and almost-yelling Patton does.</p><p>He <i>almost-</i> he almost calls for help, already has his phone out and is ready to press dial, when a thought occurs to him. Super. Roman’s a <i>super.</i> He has- Patton has experienced irregular heart rates, too, never this extreme, but he <i>knows</i> it’s a symptom. He could be fine, Roman could be perfectly fine and all Patton would be doing is getting Roman caught as an unregistered boost, but he could also suffer from bradycardia- </p><p>“Patton? I didn’t realize you had come in, I apologize- I was asleep, still… is something going on? You seem… upset.”</p><p>“<i>Logan</i> oh thank god, I can just ask you- does Roman have any medical conditions that affect his heart rate, or blood pressure?”</p><p>Logan is silent for entirely too long, in Patton’s opinion.</p><p>“I do not believe so. Why do you ask?”</p><p>“What do you- do you <i>not know?</i>”</p><p>“I mean that as far as I am aware he does not have any such conditions, but he’s never been specially tested for them, either.”</p><p>“I… okay. Okay, so he’s- Roman’s fine, then.”</p><p>“..Did something happen to suggest otherwise?”</p><p>“He’s um- really not responding to anything, and his heart rate is very low. I know that part of that is a super thing, but…”</p><p>“Ah. Yes. Virgil mentioned something last night about Roman’s tendency to “pass the fuck out” at random times.”</p><p>“He’s narcoleptic? Wait- has this never happened when you were around, before?”</p><p>“... He <i>does</i> spend most of his time out of the house. He essentially lives with his friends, at this point.”</p><p>“...right.”</p><p> . . .</p><p>Virgil hasn’t woken up anywhere that wasn’t either at home or (occasionally) Remy’s place in almost ten years, so while waking up slumped against a table wasn’t exactly alarming, the exact table he was on <i>was.</i></p><p>Because he doesn’t know anyone with a workshop inside their home, and there’s a brief period of him flipping his shit before he remembers where he is and why.</p><p>...He must have fallen asleep while Logan was working on his… wall roomba... thing.</p><p>Going down the stairs two at a time and praying his hands won’t slip from the handrails, Virgil almost runs into Logan, who is standing at the bottom of them for some reason.</p><p>Someone else is in the apartment too, who Virgil doesn’t recognize, and he’s kneeling next to Roman for some reason, so he pushes past Logan to see what’s going on better. </p><p>“Who are you?”</p><p>“Oh- I’m Patton, kiddo! I’m just a friend of Lo’s, I brought muffins!”</p><p>“...what are you doing with Roman, then?”</p><p>“He was on the floor, I was trying to wake him up and get him back on the couch or into a bed, but…”</p><p>“He hasn’t even budged, has he? Yeah, he’s gonna be like that for a while.”</p><p>“Yeah, Logan mentioned that… oh! Are you Virgil?”</p><p>“...yes. Has he been talking about me?”</p><p>“Well, he said you told him about Roman… but that’s all I can remember. Ro mentioned you earlier, too, when we were looking at his baby photos! You were in quite a few of ‘em, you know.”</p><p>“Mrs. Devon liked to take pictures…”</p><p>“Yes she did... “ Virgil had almost forgotten Logan was there until he spoke, but he was more focused on what Patton had said. Photos? If there were still pictures of him and Roman as kids, then maybe… maybe there were ones of Mr. and Mrs. Devon, too...</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Work in progress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Whoops sorry for the abrupt break there with no warning, lmao. Though I don't think I'll be going at the same breakneck pace I was before, I will try to post chapters as often as possible, bc I love this story as much as yall do- this is just some of the most uh... intense? Writing I've ever done, with the most feedback and I'm trying to apply a certain quality control that I previously didn't bother with.</p><p>See yall again soon &lt;3</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roman’s been spending less and less time at home lately. At first, it was mostly just dropping by Nathan’s house during the day to hang out with some people now that he had so much more free time; because even going on patrols and ignoring the house phone every day got boring after a while. </p><p>He hasn’t been to school in three weeks, and the more time he spends not doing anything about it, the antsier he gets. So he tries to fill the time with other things, like smash bros competitions with Nathan’s cousins and Nathan himself when he gets home. Both he and Virgil have been spending time at Logan’s place, too, but Roman isn’t sure how good of an idea that is. The longer that Virgil spends with Logan, the greater the chances that he’ll find out about the whole… supervillain thing. And he’ll assume that Roman didn’t know and that this was all some sort of secret plot to get rid of the superhero, or something…</p><p>Well… he probably will have to find out eventually, but if it can be prevented for any length of time, Roman will be very thankful. </p><p>. . .</p><p>Not that Roman appearing in his house almost every day isn’t fun, and him giving up on school for the sake of his hero career had been inevitable, but Nathan also has to work not long after school is out, most days, and Roman’s stupid, adorable face has made him late three times this week by asking for “just one more round of mario kart with me, please, Nate?” </p><p>It’s impossible to say no to him, too! Not like he’d really <i>want</i> too, anyways, but still. He’s lucky that Mr. Tebeau doesn’t give a damn about anyone being five or ten minutes late, but that’s not a good habit to make.</p><p>Stupid, absolutely fucking impossible pretty boy making his life difficult- Nathan doesn’t even know if Roman <i>likes</i> boys like that, it’s all such a waste of time-</p><p>. . .</p><p><i>No,</i> Virgil has most definitely <i>not</i> been dragging Roman with him to visit Logan. He’s just been… tagging along, to make sure Roman doesn’t get hurt or go missing while he’s over there…</p><p>Logan got his wall roomba to work finally, and that was cool at least - though there weren’t exactly any big messes to clean up there, which begs the question of why the invention had sparked Logan’s interest in the first place. Not like he cares.</p><p>He’s been learning a bit about robotics along the way; Logan was more than willing to provide some commentary for what he was doing - though Virgil felt kinda stupid asking what the “Boston Dynamics Robot Dog” was, and what it had to do with autonomous machinery.</p><p>Later he had decided to just look it up, and found some rather entertaining voice-over videos, but had gotten bored after reading a few short articles on the robot. It runs and can open doors. It would be a lot cooler with some sort of weapon, or the ability to carry someone like a horse. Bringing these thoughts up one day in Logan’s workshop had lead to him helping make a replica of the robot dog and making those exact adjustments. He knows that he actually did very little besides hold stuff down and carry things while Logan worked, but the Cavalry Dog still brought him an immense feeling of satisfaction when they had completed it, anyway.</p><p>...Maybe Virgil would just go visit by himself today, instead of waiting for Roman to get home.</p><p>. . .</p><p>It’s not that Logan has been avoiding any large projects these past few weeks, he’s just been… asking ridiculous, impossible prices to complete any job that could take him more than a few days, because he doesn’t want to give up on these little ideas and builds that he and Virgil have been collaborating on. </p><p>It’s fun, and he’d never thought it would be so… entertaining and fulfilling to teach Virgil how to weld and practice without a license by carefully searching for loopholes and forging documents. Quinton had encouraged Logan to get his degree and work with the law, but sometimes passing on knowledge requires some personalization, and one can’t really apply for a license to operate heavy machinery at sixteen, much less build weapons. </p><p>Because of course, they would build weapons. Nothing too flashy, and for the most part nonlethal, but Virgil was incredibly invested in releasing waves of flame from your belt, or waving a hand to level a building. And Logan was more than happy to show him how, and let him test them, though he wasn't quite going to send him home with any of their projects yet. The boy was still learning, after all. Particle manipulation requires a little more than just experience, as well as several other complex subjects. Even without a formal education, Logan had still studied long and hard to achieve the things he has.</p><p>“You know, Logan- this stuff could really help heroes and stuff. Or just… regular people who wanna help.”</p><p>“Hmm… would you mind elaborating a little?”</p><p>Logan knows exactly what Virgil had meant, he mostly just wants to hear his (apprentice? student? friend?) company’s thoughts on the matter.</p><p>“I mean… a lot of people probably want to be heroes, but can’t or won’t get boosted. These sorts of inventions - they basically give people powers, if you think about it. This could be really… helpful.”</p><p>“...Do <i>you</i> want to be a hero, Virgil?”</p><p>“I dunno. Maybe. I think I’d be more of a vigilante, to be honest. But… seeing all that stuff Ro- superheroes do to save people really… inspires me, I guess? As dumb as that sounds.”</p><p>Virgil doesn’t know that he is aware of Roman’s secret identity, then. Not that should be very surprising. Secrets upon secrets, in this city… </p><p>“It isn’t dumb, Virgil. If that’s what you’d like to do, I’m sure we could build support items for you to do so. Though I would recommend you spend some more time thinking about it and learn to fight if that is your intention. Not everyone can just punch things and have it work. Me and Roman attend a dojo if you’re really serious.”</p><p>He’s already helping one of his enemies. His nemesis, even. What’s one more? </p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman would ask Virgil why he’s suddenly so interested in learning taekwondo with him and Lo, but he feels like there probably won’t be a satisfying answer. His best friend does a lot of things just because he wants to, or because Roman started doing it first. It’s fun to learn new things together. </p><p>Plus it will be a lot more fun to kick someone who isn’t going to flip him on his ass every time. </p><p>...Virgil is <i>fast</i> though. Like, way faster than Roman had thought. He doesn’t seem very jazzed about hitting him, but that just means that neither of them has landed a hit, yet, and it’s making Roman itch. </p><p>Fighting <i>is</i> supposed to be fast and he misses sometimes, yeah, but this is… weird. Not being punched or just pushed around for a full three minutes into a battle just doesn’t feel right. Too light, too… tame. His heart is racing and he feels the need to just… <i>hit something,</i> or <i>be</i> hit, whatever. </p><p>“C’mon, Virge! You gotta come at me some time! Just kick me already.”</p><p>“Maybe I will if you can catch me.”</p><p>“That’s not fair- you’re way too fast- neither of us is going to win at this point, Logan’s just going to call time and then we’ll do the same thing all over and then we aren’t learning anything!”</p><p>Logan interjected from the sidelines: “Roman, goading your opponent isn’t going to get you anywhere with someone of Virgil's temperament. Virgil, you cannot dodge forever; if you do not take some offensive action soon I will assume you are surrendering.”</p><p>“See? Lo agrees with me! Now come hit me already!”</p><p>“...fine.”</p><p>When Virgil finally comes at him with a basic kick, Roman doesn’t even consider dodging it for a moment - he moves to block. He would try that thing Logan had done to stop him before, but he knows that he won’t be able to move fast enough for that. Not yet. </p><p>When the blow connects, a deep feeling of <i>right yes finally go go go</i> brings great relief to his previously antsy mood.</p><p>Before Virgil can step back, Roman follows up with a kick of his own, coming in from the right to his him just in the side- it should be fine, there’s barely any force in it, even if his bones are still screaming that this isn’t good enough, this is barely a fight at all, still- </p><p>Virgil basically flies off the mat. </p><p>He doesn’t seem too injured, but holy <i>fuck, did he just send his friend flying with that kick what did he do it wasn’t even supposed to knock him off his feet-</i></p><p>Logan calls for the match to end, as Virgil is out of bounds, and both he and Roman step over to check on him.</p><p>“Guys, I’m fine- mostly just surprised, honestly. I mean, I know I was kinda pissing you off but I didn’t expect <i>that-</i>”</p><p>“No no, I promise I didn’t mean to do that! I was honestly trying to be gentle, Virgil- how much do you even weigh? That was- I mean- I’m really sorry, Vee.”</p><p>“I don’t weigh that much less than you, I think? I’m like 160, but if that was supposed to be <i>gentle-</i> I’m a little terrified of what you normally hit like, to be honest.”</p><p>“...Yeah, let’s just say I can’t remember the last time I punched something less than 500 pounds that was’t reinforced or plated, somehow.”</p><p>“Water break, then we start again? Maybe you just need to practice with uh… not a brick wall.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>He doesn’t exactly get better at <i>not</i> overdoing… everything, basically, but by the end of the day, he was only knocking Virgil down <i>near</i> the edge of the mat, instead of several feet away from it. Which is progress?</p><p>It still makes him angry, though. Roman remembers the first few months he had spent with his boost, sitting down on chairs too hard and breaking them, shattering bowls and mugs when his hands slipped or he just grabbed them too hard- it had taken forever to learn that sort of control. How was this any different? <i>Why</i> is this different? He’s never had to hold back when fighting. Maybe that’s why.</p><p>He’d tried to in his first few tussles with other villains, and especially with law enforcement, but Eise had beaten him out of that habit pretty quickly. Roman had sparred with her and several other supers in debt to Mis- to River when he’d been learning to use his power, and Eise had been brutal. She taught him there was no such thing as pulling punches with someone who wanted you dead or locked up. Not that he cared for those ideals, but they’d saved him often enough. Tons of supers had powers that were harder to deal with than acid, after all.</p><p>Maybe he could just do what he did the first time around to teach himself control? It was basically just a lot of trial and error and drawing cute faces on all of the fragile things he and Virgil owned to make him really not want to break them. He already really doesn’t want to hurt Virgil, which is good, but sparring with Logan would be harder. Because even though he <i>doesn’t</i> want to hurt the guy too bad, he would also probably take offense to Roman going easy on him. This training was so that they could both improve, and giving anything less than his best would be unacceptable. </p><p>...He’ll just have to train more with Virgil, then.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman’s been sleeping at home less often, so Virgil has been as well. It’s too empty without him, and most of the time he’s hanging out with Nathan or Thomas already, so Virgil has been visiting the Ovannis. Sometimes Roman is there too, but for the most part, it’s just Remy and Virgil. Either they play games, watch movies, or go somewhere outside. He refuses to take one step into Starbucks, though.</p><p>It’s a good thing that Rem has a car to take them through the drive-through, which is only marginally acceptable. The colorful substances Remy orders could hardly be called coffee- more like caffeinated milkshakes. </p><p>“Look, babe, I know you hate The Man and everything and big corporations and all that- but look! Biodegradable cups! That’s cool, right?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Just get us out of here before my hair starts turning blue and you suddenly have snakebite piercings. </p><p>Remy gasped in mock surprise. “How did you know I was thinking about getting snakebites, Vee?”</p><p>“If you do I swear I’ll make you eat them.”</p><p>“I would have thought you of all people would like piercings and tattoos and all that stuff, to be honest.”</p><p>“Why? I mean I get it, I can’t stop you if that’s what you want and all, but that stuff is really… I dunno. I just don’t ever wanna do it.”</p><p>“Fair enough. I cried like a bitch when me and Dale got our matching tats.”</p><p>“You actually have a tattoo?”</p><p>“Yup. I mean, it was sort of a group thing. Me, Dale, and two more of our cousins all got them at the same time a few years ago, and we were only able to because our parents agreed it was… a special occasion.”</p><p>“...Can I ask what it is? Or where?”</p><p>“Right over the heart- it’s a. Well, it’s a pacemaker. Gramps had been doing pretty good after surgery and stuff, but he was just… too old, y’know? His body just couldn’t keep up, artificial heart or no. It’s a remembrance thing.”</p><p>“Oh. I mean, I’m sorry- that must have really sucked.”</p><p>“You don’t have to be sorry. I know it probably doesn’t matter that much to you, you never even met him. And that’s chill, because he was a good guy, and so are you so it’s - whatever, you know?”</p><p>“Yeah. I still wish things were… better, I guess. That life didn’t suck for people like you, who just… don’t deserve it.”</p><p>“...You’re really awesome, you know that babe? Seriously.”</p><p>“Right back at you, Rem.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. amavit, and et dilexit eos magnopere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>These next 2 chapters are a bit shorter than normal, so I took the time to write them both and post them together ;P</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He is not freaking out, he <i>absolutely</i> is not freaking out whatsoever. </p><p>Except that he is because there’s Billow, fighting alongside a super Roman’s never seen before (by the look of the costume and the way she talks though, it’s more likely that this is a vigilante) and they’re fighting Logan. </p><p>Billow seems to have regained their confidence and is in better control of their powers, and while Roman’s yet to see the vigilante use any particular power, she’s still really good. And Logan is <i>losing.</i> And dammit, if he gets himself caught Roman is never going to forgive him.</p><p>But there’s nothing he can do because he’s in civilian clothes, he doesn’t even have a mask with him, and his light would be too obvious - no one in New York comes even close to having a boost similar to his red light, and he can’t just <i>fight heroes,</i> anyway!</p><p>...Roman really hopes that Logan gets away, or at least that he was right about the whole “being able to break out of prison on his own” thing.</p><p>. . .</p><p>
  <i>
    <b>Not seen by any of our dear characters, but no less important to our story, smoke begins to rise over the horizon.</b>
  </i>
</p><p>. . .</p><p>So perhaps Logan had become a little too used to combating Roman’s style- he wasn’t so dense as to leave himself undefended against other powers. </p><p>But the wind is rather difficult to work around when all he had was his villain garb (which was little more than civilian clothes and helmet, no matter how cool his lab coat looked) and some of the physical-enhancement prototypes he and Virgil had been working on. He’d meant to find Roman, or another hero who specialized in hand-to-hand combat to test them on, but this was… unexpected and decidedly not in his favor.</p><p>The hero wearing blue and white - Billow, if he remembered - was careful to keep their distance and mostly support the hero who was actually giving Logan the most trouble. </p><p>He’s never seen her before, so either this is a debut or there’s been a costume change.<br/>
She doesn’t even follow that standard hero-villain banter etiquette, not giving her hero name or any cutting remarks about his “evil plans.” The whole thing just felt wrong.</p><p>“Come now, you won’t even tell me what to call you? That’s a bit rude for a hero, don’t you think?”</p><p>“...I’m not here to be a hero. Just put you in jail.”</p><p>Dodging a kick to the face, that was quickly followed by an attempt to grapple, Logan continued: “I mean, really- you know who I am, It’s only fair, don’t you think?”</p><p>“God you are annoying, you know that?”</p><p>Logan followed up with a few feints with his fists, accompanied by elbows and kicks to her center mass. That mask gives the appearance of being fabric, but he knows the sight metal that’s been shaped to look that way, both for fun and malicious purposes. </p><p>“Well I wouldn’t say <i>annoying,</i> just curious, really!”</p><p>“If I tell you what you can call me, will you stop talking and take this seriously?”</p><p>“I make no promises about talking, but I assure you I <i>am</i> taking this seriously.”</p><p>“People call me a lot of things. But I call myself Amavit.”</p><p>“Amavit… that’s Latin, correct?”</p><p>“I don’t see why that’s important.”</p><p>...Amavit didn’t say much after that, though Logan could only assume because a few moments later he stopped hearing anything. There was a pain in the back of his skull, and then the world was gone.</p><p>. . .</p><p>They caught him. It was in the news that night - the infamous Doctor Logic had been arrested, and immediately sent to the state supers holding facility. Of course, as a hero not affiliated with any official hero teams or the police department, Roman would have to do a little pushing to get access to see Logan, but considering their long-standing rivalry, Roman figured it shouldn’t be too hard. </p><p>And it wasn’t.</p><p>Showing up in full costume had probably helped, and he did have a (forged) documentation of being a registered super. It wouldn’t help much if they actually put it in the system, but in his experience, if you’re a superhero and you have a convincing air of “I have way better things to be doing but you already know that,” then even people of authority tend not to question you too harshly.</p><p>Of course, he wouldn’t be able to talk freely - even without a guard in the room there would no doubt be cameras and bugs- he mostly just wanted to see if Logan was okay, and if he was as confident now that he had an idea of the sort of place he would be breaking out of. </p><p>“So, I see you’ve finally been brought to justice, Logic! I’m only sad that I couldn’t do it myself, really.”</p><p>“I must admit I’m a bit disappointed by your incompetence as well. It’s been over a year, after all.”</p><p>...Snark. He’s fine, then.</p><p>“I see you’ve lost none of your… overwhelming charm, professor.”</p><p>“I am no professor. Nor a doctor. Though I can see the appeal of being able to cut someone up legally, especially right now… all in due time, I suppose.”</p><p>Logan is incredibly subtle when he wants to be, but Roman can take a hint when his uncle glances down for just a brief moment. He’s holding something. It’s sharp and likely won’t make it to his cell without setting something off. Roman leans onto the table Logan has been cuffed to, and as quickly as he can, he slams his hands down right in front of Logan’s. </p><p>“Do you really feel no shame for the harm you have caused? All the lives you have affected? No, nevermind - I understand. You just don’t have any humanity, do you? Well, we hold the ball now; and I’ll enjoy walking you to your cell, <i>Doctor Logic.</i>”</p><p>Please understand what he means, this is mean and it’s stupid that he feels so bad about it, Logan knows that he doesn’t think so poorly of him- </p><p>But he’s holding the device now. It’s small, and he can feel a sharp blade that moves as he runs his thumb over it- it almost feels like a tiny pizza cutter? But if Logan thinks it’ll get him out of here, it doesn’t matter.</p><p>“...Are you done here then, Red Knight?”</p><p>It was Logan who answered first though. </p><p>“Yes, I do believe we are,” he said, with a smirk that Roman chose to take as “message received.”</p><p>The guard watching them ignored Logan completely, though.</p><p>“Red Knight, are you done with the criminal?”</p><p>“I am. I <i>would</i> like to see him put into his cell, though.”</p><p>“...I can’t see why not.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Stepping past the mandatory metal detector, Roman breathed a (mental) sigh of relief. He hadn’t been 100% sure that coating his hand with a thin barrier as he walked through would actually stop the machine from catching him with the item he hadn’t even tried to investigate since taking it from Logan. He’d been fully prepared to make up some excuse about his costume being part metal, or a coated tooth or something, but everything was fine. He was fine.</p><p>It was easy enough to slip the item into Logan’s hands under the pretense of grabbing him by the arm to shove him inside. (If that surprised the guard, they didn’t show it.) Roman makes sure to text Lo an apology, for whenever he gets to see it.</p><p>. . .</p><p>There weren’t any reports on Logan that night. But that wasn’t very surprising, considering what <i>was</i> on the news.</p><p>Roman is scrambling to shove his costume on for the second time that day, and Virgil is saying something about picking up some things from Logan’s place and asks Roman if he has any extra masks.</p><p>“I- what? Why do you wanna know that- Virgil I have to go!”</p><p>“Yeah, and I’m coming with, dumbass! I just need to get the support gear Logan and I have been working on, It’ll take like, 10 minutes, tops.”</p><p>“What- no! Virgil, you've never even fought a <i>regular</i> criminal and we’re talking about-”</p><p>“Well, I’m not letting you go alone!”</p><p>“Dammit- we don’t have time for this- I don’t know where my other mask is right now, just- I dunno Logan probably has something at his place, you’ll have to ask Patton to open the door, cause Logan probably isn’t home, alright?”</p><p>“Okay- I’ll see you there!”</p><p>They both rush out the door and barely remember to lock it.</p><p>The Coral Wasp is making a public appearance, today. And she is on a <i>rampage.</i></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Don't be a hero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Coral Wasp is making a public appearance, today. And she is on a <i>rampage.</i></p><p>. . .</p><p>There are at least half a dozen heroes on the scene by the time he arrives: Billow and their partner from earlier that day, someone in bright yellow and orange that looks vaguely familiar, and a bunch of lesser-known professionals.</p><p>At the moment they seem more focused on damage control - Anny is nowhere to be seen, but there are plenty of (what he assumes are) her goons just randomly wrecking shit. So unprofessional. Roman would give them tips, but there are a few fires that need to be taken care of before they get too big, and he isn’t really in that business anymore anyways. </p><p>His barriers happen to be really good for stuffing out fires, at least - surrounding the buildings with the glittering light until it runs out of oxygen to burn is within his limitations, though] he can’t produce enough to cover more than one at a time. It’s all pretty slow going, which is <i>frustrating,</i> because every minute they’re here, the more time Anny has to cause damage in other places. </p><p>Virgil had arrived pretty quickly, though - which was. Well, Roman has conflicting emotions about it, but at least he doesn’t seem to be getting hurt. In fact, his best friend seems to be doing pretty good, despite not appearing to have any sort of weapon. He’s wearing a domino mask like Roman, with his hoodie pulled up and a scarf over the lower half of his face. The rest is just a regular outfit. Roman prays there aren’t too many projectile weapons about. </p><p>He almost wishes Logan was here, but even if he had already escaped, Roman would prefer he stayed under the radar for a while. It shouldn’t be too easy to find Lo as long as he- </p><p>...Why is his phone ringing? Why did he even <i>bring</i> his phone, who would <i>possibly-</i></p><p>“Please tell me you are not currently taking part in the fight in Queens.”</p><p>“What- Logan? What are you even- no! I’m in Brooklyn right now, and I’m kinda busy, why?”</p><p>“Good. I don’t need you fighting the Wasp in the middle of the night or any time, really-”</p><p>“Wait, she’s in Queens right now? How did she even get there so fast- nevermind. I need to stop her, Lo!”</p><p>“I <i>just</i> said-”</p><p>“I know what you said, and you can’t tell me what to do! If you’re so worried about me, help me take her down!”</p><p>“...what.”</p><p>“You’re super strong, even without a boost- if you don’t wanna be like, a hero or anything, just think of it as eliminating the competition. Virgil’s probably going to want to come with me too - you seriously want him to get stuck in that sort of danger with just me to keep an eye on him?”</p><p>“Do not use my apprentice against me-”</p><p>“Hah! See! I knew you cared! We’ll be there within the hour, the clock is ticking, Lo!”</p><p>He ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket - on silent mode. Either Logan would come or he wouldn’t, they don’t have time to argue about it.</p><p>“Vee! The Wasp is in Queens, you with me?”</p><p>“Duh- but that’s like hours away from here, dude!”</p><p>“Eh, we’ll figure it out!”</p><p>Apparently one of the other heroes had overheard them (they weren’t exactly whispering, but the whole city was pretty loud at the moment) because she was running alongside them a minute later. </p><p>“It’s going down in Queens, you said?”</p><p>“Apparently.”</p><p>She nodded. “Billow! Think you can take 3 to Queens?”</p><p>Oh… right. Billow can fly. That would be much better than running or hijacking a bus, actually.</p><p>“Sure thing, Am!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Idiot, Roman is so- Logan had just barely escaped that holding facility, and he’d only dared to call Roman after seeing the current reports about The Coral Wasp fighting a “popular hero” in Queens. But now he’d just caused more problems than he had solved by telling Roman where Annabelle was. He should have just asked where Roman was exactly- </p><p>Stupid irrational fears aside, he has a choice to make now. Well, not much of a choice, really. </p><p>Because Roman was right. Even if he knows that the Red Knight could handle himself, could <i>maybe</i> come out alive in a battle with a Wasp, Virgil was only out there with some basic equipment, most likely - all that was missing from his workbench was some enhanced gloves and boots, and a small dart gun he’d just started manufacturing ammunition for. There could only be about six or seven shots in it, and they were less effective than a wet tissue against what they were fighting. </p><p>...Deep breaths, Logan. </p><p>The Cavalry Dog suddenly didn’t seem as silly as he had once thought. </p><p>. . . </p><p>He’s fallen out of himself again. </p><p>Patton had actually been trying to this time, at least - he’s been practicing a little. He hasn’t been waking up nearly as far away as he usually does, which is good! But he still never quite wakes up in New York City, which has been… a little upsetting. The past five times have all been in New York, at least. </p><p>Today he’s in… Suffolk? Or Queens? Maybe he’s somewhere in between the two. Well, walking through Queens is nice, and home is only a few hours away - less if he runs. It’s not like he gets tired like this. Sometimes he just prefers the scenic route, or to watch the people go by without having to worry about seeming rude for staring. </p><p>Eventually, he starts to notice a distinct lack of people, though. Which, yeah, the sun is setting and it’s the middle of the week, so that’s not <i>too</i> weird, but this is also New York, and there’s definitely smoke in the sky if he looks hard enough.</p><p>...There’s probably a villain attack, then. Or a big fire somewhere nearby. Both suck, but he can’t help like this.</p><p>...Maybe he’ll take a look, though. Just in case.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Being in the sky is 100% terrifying and awful and Virgil would like to rate the experience one star on Yelp, please.</p><p>The way they’re arranged doesn’t exactly help, either. Bill-whatever is carrying the chick wearing all green and black, who’s got Roman by the arm, who is holding Virgil with his <i>nondominant arm, holy fuck this was an awful idea what were they thinking holy shit-</i></p><p>“...you good, Vee?”</p><p>Roman’s question is almost lost in the wind, but they’re close enough for him to hear. </p><p>“No, I am not. Don’t drop me, dumbass.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>“...are we almost there?”</p><p>“I dunno. Probably. It’s been almost 10 minutes, we have to be close.”</p><p>“Don’t lie to me, princey.”</p><p>“I’ve <i>told you,</i> I am a <i>knight,</i> not a-”</p><p>“justshutupImtryingtopretendthisisnthappening.”</p><p>“...Alright.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman had known and expected that Anny was pissed. She wouldn’t be doing this otherwise, but this was…</p><p>The entire block was basically leveled. Like someone was playing map-maker and had just taken their eraser to it. There were obvious smudges and spots where it had been, but…</p><p>“The <i>fuck?</i>”</p><p>...What were they even supposed to do? It was silent now, save for the sound of sirens in the distance. The Wasp was done, at least for now. She was sitting amongst the rubble, a bubblegum-pink speck against the grey, a dozen stories below them.</p><p>“...yeah.”</p><p>“I think I’m going to let you guys down now. The police will need someone to get them through all this mess- I can at least clear a path before they get here.”</p><p>And Billow set them down just a moment later and flew off again, as they’d promised.</p><p>“Do we just... cuff her?”</p><p>“Well I don’t know about you two but I didn’t exactly pick up any rope on our way here.”</p><p>“I can do it. We aren’t just going to knock her out- we have to ask her questions.”</p><p>“Questions? Look around us, Knight, I don’t think there’s a whole lot to ask!”</p><p>“We need to know <i>why.</i>”</p><p>She didn’t even move as Roman stepped towards her- red ball of light molding into sparkling cuffs in his hands. </p><p>“...what are you doing?”</p><p>“Do I really need to tell you you’re under arrest, Wasp?”</p><p>“You can’t arrest me. All it takes is one twitter post and I can have half the country knocking at your door by sunrise.”</p><p>“...I can’t just let you go.”</p><p>And he really can’t. No matter how much Roman may want to protect his identity, there would be no excusing himself for letting Anny get away now, even if she could probably pay her way out before seeing five minutes in a jail cell.</p><p>She doesn’t really resist the cuffs, but he figured she wouldn’t. What does she have to fear, after all?</p><p>“Are you going to tell us why you did all this- or is that going to be up to the cops?”</p><p>“...Papa’s going on a vacation to Burma for 2 months, after tomorrow. Without me.”</p><p>
  <i>”Seriously?”</i>
</p><p>“He said I’m being a brat. That mom didn’t care about me.”</p><p>“I cannot even begin to explain how much that <i>doesn’t</i> make this okay.”</p><p>“-If you’re done cuffing her, Knight, stop chatting with the supervillain already!”</p><p>...Roman really needs to stop meeting such impatient people. But he obliges because he’s <i>super</i> done with Anny and her bullshit. Also, his life might be pretty much over in a few hours, so he’s feeling a little bit like nothing in the world matters.</p><p>And then Virgil has to walk over and ruin that light and gentle feeling by reminding Roman that it isn’t just <i>him</i> on the line if Anny spills the beans. </p><p>On a related note, he remembers to pull out his phone and make a call before they have an escaped villain rushing in and getting himself caught again, and ends up basically relaying the whole night while they’re all waiting for law enforcement.</p><p>Logan says he will try his best to deactivate any and all social media accounts under Anny’s name before the night ends. It’s a relief, but not by much. Murphy’s law and all.</p><p>...The officers take Anny off their hands when they manage to get a police car out there with Billow’s help, and Roman goes to say goodbye to Billow and their partner, but they were already gone. He’s ready to go home anyway. Running home would be less glamorous than flying, but he had enough energy left to carry Virge home on his back so that they could avoid public transport, and he’d probably be faster than the buses considering the disaster tonight, anyways.</p><p>“Ready to go, Virgil?”</p><p>“...Is this really what it’s like for you? Every time?”</p><p>Uh. What?</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Just- this whole-” Virgil waved his arms to gesture at… well everything, really, “-night! Is this what it always feels like?”</p><p>“...That depends on how you’re feeling right now, but if you’re talking about Anny… no. It’s… usually pretty different.”</p><p>“Okay. Okay, then. I think… I can do this.”</p><p>“You mean be a hero?”</p><p>“Something like that.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Get in, we're going napping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patton was back in his body, but he still didn’t entirely feel like it. There had been so much… destruction. There’s no way that all of those buildings were completely empty as they were <i>leveled,</i> not when the evacuation alert had been so short notice, and not everyone listens to them when they <i>should!</i> He’s- he knows he’s spiraling, but there’s just- how can anyone cause so much- so much harm and death in one night and not even- not even look a <i>little</i> sorry!? Those heroes had caught the villain, of course, they usually do, but almost <i>never</i> before it’s too late for <i>someone.</i></p><p>...No, no, he isn’t- he shouldn’t be mad at the heroes, they try their- he’s mad at <i>himself</i> because he had been <i>right there,</i> when that villain (pink? Why pink? Such an alarming and disarming color at the same time…) was rampaging. He just couldn’t <i>do</i> anything, because he was- Out of himself? Floating? Different. He was. His power, his <i>stupid, stupid boost</i> is so useless, because he can see but he can never <i>do anything about it.</i> What’s the point in witnessing a tragedy you have no power over? Patton had needed to rush home, eventually, because sitting there and watching homes crumble and lives be crushed over and over, he couldn’t- it was. Too much. Because he wasn’t enough. In every sense of the word, last night, he had been <i>useless.</i></p><p>...He is in his body. Can feel all of the physical sensations, can <i>breathe</i> again, and displace the air around him just by being there. But he isn’t… quite himself yet. He isn’t Patton. He just is. And since he <i>is,</i> he can <i>do.</i> And what he’s <i>doing</i> is nothing, even when he’d been begging to be able to <i>do</i> all night. </p><p>It’s like when he can’t, he must, and when he can, all of the expiration dates are passed. </p><p>...Maybe he can <i>do</i> breakfast. Make one person happy this morning. Logan likes eggs, so he’ll make something with eggs.</p><p>It’s not a lot, but at least he is <i>doing</i> again. </p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan is… conflicted. Obviously not having to battle (at least <i>close to</i>) the toughest villain on this half of the country was a relief, but Roman and Virgil <i>did.</i> Children, ones who barely knew how to drive and yet also lived completely independently- he is fighting with himself, knowing intellectually that they were capable, mature for their age and did not need him to - to <i>hover</i> like some sort of parental figure (but is that not exactly what he is?) and that… his worries are mostly unfounded.<br/>
But they are also his nephew and apprentice, he should not - they should not have to fight such intense battles. Even if they were both heroes, now, (when did this city fall so far?) they were still-</p><p>Patton brought breakfast over. That’s… nice. Neither of them say anything, they don’t have to, and it’s only half-way into their meal that Logan remembers he is still very much wearing his lab coat with <i>Logic’s symbol on the breast pocket,</i> but Patton has yet to comment on it, and it would be much more suspicious to stop eating just to take it off and hide it now. </p><p>“...did you see the news, Lo?”</p><p> “Only a little. But Roman filled me in.” </p><p>“It’s… at least they got her, finally.” </p><p>“Perhaps not for very long, though. The Wasp is very… let’s just say she has many connections and more money than anyone could know what to do with. I’d be more surprised if she stayed incarcerated for the rest of this week.” </p><p>“Seriously? But she-” </p><p>“I <i>know,</i> Patton. It’s awful, but it is out of our hands.”</p><p>“A lot of things seem to be that way…” </p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“Oh- uh. Nothing. Nevermind I- just nevermind, Logie-bear.” </p><p>“If you are certain.” . . .</p><p>. . . </p><p>Getting home had still taken them a little over an hours, even running about as fast as he could go, and while Roman wasn’t exactly feeling tired, he was very sore; he knows having a body that doesn’t want to move and a head that just absolutely needs to do <i>something</i> is a bad combination, but Virgil had gone to bed pretty much immediately, so there wasn’t much to do.</p><p>How he ended up on the floor watching tv is a bit of a blur, but it’s… good enough. The carpet is soft, and he’s warm, everything should be fine. He <i>is</i> fine, there’s really nothing he really wants right now, but… But he’s… Alone. That’s what it is, isn’t it? Even after his biggest fights, the most painful, upsetting battles, he never came home to be alone. Virgil was always there, waiting for him, at least. </p><p>But now Virgil was tired too, probably more from the loss of adrenaline than anything. He doesn’t want to play board games or watch tv, he just… wants to be around other people. </p><p>...Roman leaves a text for Virgil to wake up to and prays that Logan is actually home...</p><p>. . . </p><p>It’s not that Logan gets <i>lonely,</i> not anymore anyway; he’s <i>been</i> lonely, and knows what that feels like. This is different. He wants company, but more specifically he wants <i>Patton’s</i> company. </p><p>Which isn’t exactly odd, considering they are… friends and they see each other regularly. Any time he’s seeking out some form of social interaction, he often seeks it out in Patton. But that still doesn’t seem to quite explain the feeling. There’s no particular longing for company in general, he wouldn’t be too affected either way if someone else he knew came to visit. Something tells him that it isn’t so much the interaction he desires, but- </p><p>
  <b>Knock knock.</b>
</p><p> ...Unusual. No one tends to knock on his door anymore. They just sort of… barge in regardless of warning or possible danger. He feels a little ridiculous using the “peephole” (absurd name, despite its accuracy) but is relieved all the same to find that it’s just Roman. Of course. A swat team wouldn’t knock, even if they weren’t certain this was his home. Upon entering, Roman doesn’t waste a single second, pulling Logan by the arm towards the living room.</p><p> “...Roman? What is this? I need to close the door-”</p><p> “Shhhh. It’s fine, Lo!. We’re just gonna sit and watch a movie or something because I am <i>super</i> tired, and cannot be trusted alone right now.”</p><p>“That aside, I cannot just leave the front door open!” </p><p>“Of course you can. Anyone that couldn’t have gotten through it themselves isn’t a big deal.” </p><p>“I have the air conditioning unit on!” </p><p>“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-” </p><p>With the way Roman was attempting to pull him onto the couch by his arm, Logan couldn’t see the front door, but it was easy to hear the only adjacent one in the hall opening.</p><p>“Lolo? Is something going on? You left your front door open-” </p><p>“I know, Patton, Roman is being- an absolute <i>child</i> right now-” </p><p>“Patton! Pat! Patty-cake, whatever! Come make Logan sit down for cuddles! He won’t listen to reason!”</p><p>“<i>I</i> won’t listen to reason? Roman, with your strength you could quite literally tear my arm from its socket, if you just let me close the door we can-” </p><p>“Oooooh!!! Is it cuddle time? I’ll make hot chocolate!” </p><p>“Yes!” </p><p>“Patton that is <i>not</i> helping-” . . .<br/>
. . . </p><p>“Insufferable, both of you.”</p><p>Roman probably didn’t have any right to disagree, so he just ignored the comment. This was the best way he could be spending his night, really, so it doesn’t matter anyway. The couch could just about hold all three of them and their blankets if they sat upright, but he had taken the initiative early on to clear up some sitting space by just laying on top of both Logan and Patton. </p><p>He has no idea what movie is on right now, or who is petting his hair in a very nice way that really makes him want to go to sleep, but he’s happy either way. It’s warm and comfortable, and he’ll probably only have to deal with a little bit of yelling from Virgil tomorrow since he <i>did</i> technically tell him he was leaving beforehand. </p><p>Not <i>his</i> fault if Vee was too tired to read the message...</p><p>. . . </p><p>So he wasn’t exactly himself yet; he’s definitely feeling a bit better after breakfast, (is it still breakfast at 4am?) but he’s still off. This is nice, though. He and Logan are smushed together under a bunch of blankets (and Roman…) and they have a director’s cut of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire on, and even if it’s still super early and the sun is in just the right place to cast a very bothersome light on their faces, he wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else.</p><p>“...Does he do this a lot?” </p><p> </p><p>“No, Dobby doesn’t actually appear very often in the movies, despite his consistent presence in the novels, he-” </p><p>“I meant Roman, silly. Does he come home at weird hours like this a lot?” </p><p>“I...you know, Patton, it is very hard to lie to you.” </p><p>“What do you mean?” </p><p>“Roman doesn’t… live here.” </p><p>“I know that Lo, you said he spends a lot of time with-” </p><p>“No. I mean to say that- legally, he owns his own home. He and Virgil share a house a few miles away from here. They… only visit.” </p><p>“Oh. Oh wow- I mean. It’s great, for them to get that kinda space to themselves- I guess I just didn’t think you’d be able to afford that?” </p><p>“<i>They</i> are the ones paying for it, Patton. It’s signed in <i>their</i> names.” </p><p>“...is it ‘cause Romans a hero? Is that how they can…” </p><p>“To my knowledge.”</p><p>“To your- you know what? Nevermind. Lo, I know we’re good friends and all, but you don’t need to tell me everything if you don’t want to right now. Okay? This is cuddle time.” </p><p>“Of course. It would be… a lot to explain, so early in the day.” </p><p>“Exactly. So we’re gonna watch this movie, and eventually, figure out how to move Ro when one of us has to get up.” </p><p>“...I already cannot feel my legs.” </p><p>. . .</p><p>...It’s too bright. Why is there light in his face, the curtains should be <i>closed,</i> dammit- Oh. Right. Cause he tore everything apart looking for some kind of costume last night, and now his curtain rods are on the floor, completely failing at their one job.<br/>
He could put them back up, but… he’d rather go get breakfast with Roman or something. </p><p>Sitting up is awful, because Virgil got hit a lot last night, and it felt like someone had run him over with a bulldozer. How does Roman <i>do</i> this, and like every day at that? </p><p>...Probably superpowers. It’s always superpowers. </p><p>Checking the time on his phone, he notices there’s a text from Roman, almost six hours ago. </p><p>
  <b>&gt;Roman Princely :P&lt;<br/>
I'm going to logan's Might stay the night Card is on the counter I think if you wanna order breakfast ;P</b>
</p><p>...Oh. Well, he could always make Remy drive him somewhere. It’s like 6am, he probably hasn’t even gone to bed yet. If he has, Virgil will just bribe him with Roman’s debit card and coffee.</p><p><b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
come pick me up, i wanna get food</b> </p><p>The reply only took twelve minutes - impressive. </p><p>
  <b>&gt;Remington “Insomnia” Ovanni&lt;<br/>
Babe I was <i>napping</i> there better be coffee involved. </b>
</p><p>
&gt;Me&lt;
duh. if you get here in 10 minutes we can even go to that dumpster fire you call a coffee shop.
</p><p>
 &gt;Remington “Insomnia” Ovanni&lt;
</p><p>
 I’ll be there in 5 dork, we are getting <i>starbies</i> and you will like it.
</p><p>
  ...Remy was there in eight minutes, actually, but Virgil didn’t say anything. He just wants to eat something that probably isn’t good for him in a car with seat warmers.
</p><p>
  “C’mon, at least try like, a regular coffee, babe. You don’t have to order off the secret menu or anything, just <i>give Starbucks a chance.</i> Please? For me?” 
</p><p>
  “You’re wearing aviators half the size of your face and yet I can still tell you’re giving me puppy eyes.”
</p><p>
  “Is that a yes?” 
</p><p>
  “Fine. But you’re helping me carry as many 10-piece nugget meals as we can legally buy later.” 
</p><p>
  “Deal.”
</p><p>
 ...So maybe it didn’t suck as much as he thought it would. It definitely wasn’t sweet like he’d expected, even without asking for any creamer. Though in all fairness, he’d tried a few of Remy’s favorite drinks which tasted nothing like coffee or even a milkshake - just like someone had filled a cup of cream with sugar and lightly mixed it with some food dye.
</p><p>
  They still walked out of the nearest fast food place (because no, he is not so cruel as to make a dozen other cars wait for his fifty orders of chicken nuggets) with many armfuls of bags of food, and they’d needed to make a few trips. He wasn’t even going to get through a fraction of it, probably, but that’s what friends (and random people they drive past that look like they’d appreciate a full bag of chicken nuggets) are for.
</p><p>
  “Hey babe, I meant to ask earlier I guess, but is this like... a date?” 
</p><p>
  “Uhh. What do you mean?”
</p><p>
  “I dunno, it’s just that you’ve been asking me to go out and get food or just hang by ourselves a lot lately? It’s chill if I’m readin’ this wrong, but you know. Thought I’d ask.” 
</p><p>
 “I mean… do you… want it to be?” 
</p><p>
  “Only if you’re cool with it.” 
</p><p>
  ...It’s not like he <i>hasn’t</i> thought about it before. He’s known he was gay for years, it was just never really a big deal in comparison to literally every other challenge he and Roman were facing, so he didn’t care to explore it. Virgil likes Remy, and (now that he gives it some serious thought) he prefers spending time with him over most of their other friends. The idea of dating anyone is absolutely fucking terrifying, don’t get him wrong, but he fought like, a ton of villains last night. He doesn’t have the energy to freak out over much right now. Later, he could scream and wonder what the hell he’s doing. 
</p><p>
  “Then… sure. It’s a date. Does that… change anything?”
</p><p>
   “Not really. Where to next? I’m thinking we stock up on candy and go to the movies.”
</p><p>
  “Okay, but I know you’re just going to stuff all of the candy in my coat pockets because your jacket doesn’t have any.” 
</p><p>
  “<i>Look,</i> sometimes you gotta sacrifice some function for form, and I told you I am trying to figure out how to add pockets to this thing, okay?” 
</p><p>
  “Yeah, but it’s still useless. It barely keeps you warm because of the type of leather, too.” 
</p><p>
  “Okay do you <i>want</i> me to leave you on the next street corner or…?” 
</p><p>
  “Just drive, Rem.” 
</p><p>
  “...’course, babe.”
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Romance and all of that garbage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>So.... We're getting close, yall. </p><p>I estimate there are at most 3 chapters left to VDLE! (mostly bc I want it to end with 20 chapters for some reason XD)</p><p>But do not fear! There shall be a sequel when all of this is over, (name pending) with even more violence! even more fluff! even more devastating tragic events!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan likes to be right, most of the time. It is satisfying to be able to tell someone they were incorrect, especially if they were rude in trying to prove otherwise. But some things… some things he would prefer to have predicted incorrectly. One example was currently being broadcasted live at him via the radio set up in the far corner of his workshop. It was mostly just to provide white noise of a sort, it didn’t matter if it was music, a talk show, or a news broadcast. But he had made sure to leave it on the local news station the past few days, for updates on Annabelle. </p><p>Surprisingly, there hadn’t been anything for a full seventy-nine hours, forty-seven minutes, and eighteen seconds, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one… </p><p>But the topic had been introduced with so little… enthusiasm? Flair? That it had taken him a few moments to realize what was being discussed.</p><p>“-trial itself took less than an hour, the day following the incident, but information has only recently been leaked for publication. While Miss Dellores was not eligible for bail, the public seems to be in an uproar over the absurd prison sentence of just 10 years that was issued, with a chance for parole after less than two full years. There have been accusations of bribery and threats made, but it’s all out of our hands now. Annabelle Dellores, formerly known as The Coral Wasp, is behind bars, and we can only hope it stays that way, for now.” </p><p>Better than he had expected. Much worse than he’d hoped. If there was a chance for her to get parole at all, it was going to happen. And somehow Logan had the feeling that she wouldn’t serve even the two years supposedly necessary for that to happen.</p><p>...Patton was upset but clearly tried not to show it. Roman was adamant that if she tried to go back to her villain work once she was released, that he would “yeet her ass back into jail” and Virgil, once he’d heard the news and been able to give his opinion, agreed with Roman.</p><p>“This is all bullshit, but you know. I guess we did it once. We can probably sack her again when she pulls some other big stunt. People like her tend not to get the message that the world isn’t theirs just because of one setback.”</p><p> </p><p>“...While you are correct, I would prefer you do not attempt to actually <i>fight</i> her any time soon. You two were lucky that she didn’t put up any resistance.”</p><p>“Yeah. We were. I know we probably would have had trouble if we actually needed to do anything but punch a bunch of people who think a bat or knife make them gods. But you know, Roman wasn’t entirely wrong when he asked you to help us. You wouldn’t make a half-bad hero. Or vigilante, since that isn’t really your style.”</p><p>“I know. I have… thought about it. Has Roman- no, of course he hasn’t told you. I suspect there would have been quite a ruckus if you knew already.”</p><p>“...Told me what?”</p><p>“I am Logic. Doctor Logic, according to the media, though that is a misnomer I would rather not perpetuate.”</p><p>“...Wait, you mean like… the supervillain? Roman’s “arch-nemesis”? And he <i>knows</i> about this?”</p><p>“Yes, he has known for some time. I suppose it was a secret for a secret - we discovered each other’s secret identities at the same time and chose to keep it secret.”</p><p>“Was this before or after you found out you guys were actually uncle and nephew?”<br/>
“Much sooner than that.”</p><p>“I really want to punch you. But I… I get why you guys didn’t tell me.”</p><p>“...If it would make you feel better about the situation, you may. Though I must ask that you let me explain why I brought this to your attention in the first place.”</p><p>“Clock is ticking.”</p><p>The way that Virgil was staring at him from on the workbench (he really needs to convince him to start using the provided chairs and stools) was not helping Logan’s nerves one bit, but he didn't exactly have the right to ask for forgiveness in this situation, really. </p><p>“I have been considering… a change in career. Not actively battling criminals, or going on patrols and all the nonsense that Roman does, but not actively participating in the villain community. And perhaps assisting in… more daunting challenges that you two will face. Vigilantism, as you suggested.”</p><p>“Great for you. Still wanna hit you for almost killing Ro a bunch of times.”</p><p>“That is a fair perspective.”</p><p>“...But I’m not gonna, because that would probably make him mad more than anything. Gonna beat the crap out of you at the dojo, though.”</p><p>“I would expect no less.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>“Hey Pat, I know it’s not really my business or anything, but I’ve been really curious; what <i>is</i> your boost?”</p><p>“It’s fine if you want to know Roman, though I’ll warn you it’s not very exciting.”</p><p>“Sure it is, you can make anything exciting if you use your <i>imagination!</i>”</p><p>“I guess so, huh? Y’know, I don’t even really have a name for it, but the closest thing I can compare it to would be… astral projection. I sorta… leave my body for a bit, and I have to find my way back.”</p><p>“What? But that’s <i>so</i> cool! What do you mean not <i>exciting-<i> and wait, what do you mean <i>find</i> your way back?”</i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I mean that when I wanna get up and around in my body again, I have to find it first! Kinda like hide and seek with myself, haha.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh god does your body <i>move around</i> when you- project?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Oh no no no, I go full nap-time, I just need to get back to where I was before my power activated, and sometimes that can be a little hard without a compass and map, is all.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>” How far do you go from your body Pat?”</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...Roman has met very few other supers in his life so far, or at least very few that would tell him the specifics of their power. So he doesn’t have much reference for how much control everyone should have over theirs with no specific training to gain that control - but listening to Patton describe how he ends up projecting onto <i>other continents</i> without meaning to, he knows this is <i>bad.</i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It wasn’t a physically-enhancing or even physically <i>manifested</i> power, technically, so he might not be able to teach Pat from his own experiences, but he <i>cannot</i> let things stay like this.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“So… you said you’ve gotten it to stay within New York, at least?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“For the most part, yeah!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“And how did you do that?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I sorta just… practiced a lot? And I focused really hard on like, remembering exactly where I live, relative to the east coast, and that seemed to keep me from going overseas, at least.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Alright, so you probably just have to focus on where you want to go when you project, and you don’t have full control because of how long you spent trying to ignore your power.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Well I wouldn’t say I <i>ignored</i> it, exactly, I just… wished really hard for it to go away.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...That’s not better, Pat. Even if this wasn’t what you had been hoping for, it’s a part of you now. You have to adapt to it, and maybe you can finally use it to your advantage!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I don’t think it’s much of an advantage, Ro. I told you, I can’t <i>do</i> anything when I’m all… ghost-y.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yeah, but it’s perfect for reconnaissance! You could run into a burning building without worrying about being hurt, find anyone inside, and then go straight to them instead of running around hoping you’ll see someone!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I… never thought about it that way?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I get it, sometimes there’s little skills we have or weird things we can do that we spend so much time thinking about what it <i>can’t</i> do instead of what is <i>can.</i> I kinda thought my light was stupid when I was figuring out everything I could do with it, because I hadn’t mastered the skill. I was always thinking about the downsides- how long it took to make something, how hard it was to form the right shapes- you just need to practice!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...You’re right. Yeah, I just… need to train with it more! I- how did you learn to get control of your power, if you don’t mind me asking?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Let’s just say I had a… pretty ruthless teacher. I would not recommend that method, especially with something like astral projection. The only reason it worked for me is because adrenaline and fear can... really affect my creativity.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“That <i>does</i> sound awful. You must have been really young, right? Who taught you?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...It really doesn’t matter, Pat. Even if I thought she could help you, I wouldn't even know where to-” he took a moment to think, then decided that was a bad train of thought to bring into the conversation. “-Why don’t we just focus on everything you know about your power right now, anything weird you might have noticed?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It’s fine if you don’t wanna name names, kiddo, but I'm always here to talk if you need it.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Thanks. I would rather move on.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Alright, then.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You know, this isn’t really what I thought you meant by “setting up a date together.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Well of course not, babe, if I had told you what we were gonna do you might have slipped up and told Ro something.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I would <i>not</i>”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Babe, you guys have like, twin telepathy or some shit. You wouldn’t have even had to say anything.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“<i>Still,</i> how do you know they even like each other?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Well, Nathan is <i>obviously</i> whipped for your best friend, if you hadn’t noticed. And I don’t really know if Roman feels the same, he’s just too oblivious about romance to tell. But we won’t know until we try, hun.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Sure. And how are we going to get them to agree to this?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“They aren't going to <i>know</i> it’s a date until they get there, duh. We’re going to ask them both to go to the movies, and then you and I ditch them at the alter to go make out somewhere.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But that’s- how will they figure out it’s supposed to be a date? Remy, this is ridiculous-” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Nate can probably figure it out himself, and then it’s just up to him to confess his feelings. If he doesn’t, then we just rinse and repeat until he does.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...you’re taking me on an <i>actual</i> date after, or I’m unfollowing you on Tumblr.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>”You wouldn’t dare.”</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Roman’s always excited for group activities, especially ones that he didn’t plan out himself - almost everyone was going to the movies this weekend - some sort of horror film, according to Virgil. He and Nate were the first to arrive, buying drinks and popcorn while they waited for Remy and Vee.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“The previews start in like five minutes, why don’t we go find our seats?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Sure. I think- oh wait, I just got a text, that’s probably them!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
me and remy can’t make it. he dragged me off to be gross and mushy at his place. Just watch it without us :P</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Aww. You two are lame :(</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
yeah yeah, i’ll make it up later. just have fun nerds.</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Sure. You guys have fun too ;)</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
shut tf up and go watch the movie. </b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>...So that’s exactly what they did. Yeah, it wasn’t great to have plans canceled at the actual <i>last minute,</i> but he and Nate had fun regardless. The movie wasn’t actually <i>scary,</i> it was just filled with a lot of jumpscares and poor attempts at being edgy. They more or less whispered criticisms about each scene to each other the whole time, as there was only one other group sitting in the back, anyway.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He did, maybe, <i>once or twice</i> almost send a shiny red sword at the screen for stupid jump scares that were just a little too realistic, but Nate was there to remind him that this was a theater, not an intense battle with some unknown villain, he doesn’t need to fight, just sit and enjoy the crappy cinema. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It was… nice, and kinda sweet, actually, but Roman wasn’t really sure how to express that at the moment.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Soon enough the credits were rolling, and he almost got up to leave, but noticed Nate wasn’t really trying to get up or gather his things yet.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Is there supposed to be like, a post-credits scene? Marvel-style?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No. I mean, I don’t think so- I just. This was… fun. I guess I don’t really want it to be over yet?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Well, you can stay the night at my place if you still wanna hang out. Virgil’s probably gonna spend the night with Remy.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“...Yeah. Sure.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>. . .</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He is going to kill Virgil and Remy the next time he sees them. At first, he’d just been a little upset that they had ditched them, but then he had realized just how <i>weird</i> it was. Even when they’d started dating, it hadn’t made any changes to the group dynamic. They didn’t just skip sleep-overs or breakfasts, because they didn’t give a damn about being mushy in front of everyone. If they’d wanted to do couple stuff they wouldn’t have canceled plans for that. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>No, something else was definitely going on. So he’d texted Virgil in the middle of the movie, as subtly as he could, to ask what had come up. If something <i>bad</i> had happened to either of them, because he’d actually been <i>worried-</i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
nah, we’re all good. rem just wants you to confess to roman.</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
What the hell is wrong with you guys this isnt some <i>romcom</i></b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
well it is now. guess you just have to deal. </b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Im going to gut both of you</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>Not that the idea of hanging out with just Roman for a few hours didn’t sound nice, but this was <i>betrayal.</i></b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>The movie <i>did</i> go well, at least. It wasn’t at all scary, though the cheap jumpscares got to Roman a little. Which is understandable, considering his fight or flight reflex broke with the needles stuck on “fight” years ago. There was almost a lot of serious property damage to deal with, but Roman seemed to keep it under control every time, and he still wanted to watch the movie, which was… really cool of him.</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>There’s a lot of things he loves about Roman, and while his stupid, pretty face was a close second, his determination was always what Nate appreciated the most. It was just the first on a long list of admirable things about him.</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>He would enjoy this night, just to spite the hell out or Remy and Virgil. And maybe he’d try to subtly ask Roman what his orientation is under the guise of truth-or-dare or something…</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <b>. . .</b>
    </i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Can someone give me a goddamn edge piece already?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hmmm... let's consider this a... relationship building chapter. I suppose. </p><p>The End is coming fast, yall. I am going to take a bit of a break after this is over, so that I can properly plan out (VDL2 2? Heroism demands little kindness? We'll figure that out when we get to it...)</p><p>But in the meantime, I'm cooking up a little something special so you aren't without at least <i>something</i> fun to read in these trying times! Chapter one of "Fidelity and Fortitude" will be posted sometime in the next week or so, hopefully, and it's all about Virgil this time ;) (Not THIS Virgil, mind you, but one with just as much sass)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan knew before he even opened his eyes; it was a familiar feeling, though one he hasn’t woken up to for several months now. He might have thought that he wouldn’t have to worry about these sorts of days anymore.</p><p>Technically speaking, he <i>could</i> move. It wasn’t as if there was actual lead weights holding him down, nor some paralytic substance running through his system. He knows that with an effort that would feel much greater than it should on any <i>normal</i> day, he might be able to get to the other side of his apartment, or at the very least out of his bed. </p><p>It’s still morning; if he had slept past noon, that would have been a problem. As it is, he hopes that Patton will assume that he is working or out of the building. Perhaps he would choose to skip breakfast together today and it would not be an issue. </p><p>“Lo? I might have… overfilled the waffle maker again, so I- Logan?”</p><p>...As if. </p><p>“Lo, are you upstairs?”</p><p>He should respond. He should say something - tell Patton that he’s working and already ate, they could reschedule. But he doesn’t. Logan can’t make himself articulate that lie, no matter how many times he practices it in his head. </p><p>It wasn’t too long before the door to his bedroom was opened, and he couldn’t do much but glance towards where the sound had come from. Patton was only a blurry shape in the door (where were his glasses?) but it was easy to imagine the curious, perhaps even worried look on his face.</p><p>“Logan, are you awake?”</p><p>Why can’t he respond properly? He’s never - even the worst days he has woken up to did not rob him of his speech. What is happening to him? It had been over six months since one of these episodes, why is it suddenly back with such force?</p><p>“...Your eyes are open, Lo. If you want to go back to sleep that’s alright, I can come back later-”</p><p>“...no.”</p><p>Patton stepped back into the doorway, pausing his retreat. He suddenly does not want to spend the day alone, as he had been planning. He wants Patton to stay. For what purpose he isn’t quite sure, but Logan cannot let him leave, now that he’s <i>right there.</i></p><p>“Did you say something?”</p><p>“...Don’t go?”</p><p>“Oh! Uhm, sure thing- I just. I kinda came to grab some paper towels, because there is a <i>huge</i> waffle mess going on right now, but I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”</p><p>“I… alright.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>He’s only seen Lo like this a few times before, and it’s still pretty new territory. Patton knows that there’s probably more he could do that just sitting with him and talking about whatever comes to mind. Roman would probably know better, which is exactly why he’d sent the kiddo a text while he was cleaning up after the Great Waffle War, but there hadn’t been any response so far.</p><p>...To be fair, he’d never woken up at 6am as a teenager either. That didn’t make this any less stressful, though. </p><p>Patton’s seen the symptoms of depression in several people before, but most of the time he’d only seen people (at most) a few days after something traumatic had happened to them. He’s not a therapist, he doesn’t know what to look for - what will make Lo feel better or worse.</p><p>“You know, I heard Virgil’s birthday is coming up! I’ve been trying to figure out what his favorite colors and stuff are, but none of them are very… happy-birthday colors, exactly. Black and purple, they’re more halloween-y. But that’s fine, of course, I’m sure we can work it out - I’m more worried about what to get him, actually. I know you two like to work with robots and stuff, but does that mean I should get him like, a remote control car or plane?”</p><p>“...He likes horror stories.”</p><p>“Ooooh! We could get him horror novels, then? Or tapes! I don’t think he or Roman have a tape player though, we’d have to find him a walkman to go with it-”</p><p>...While it would be hypocritical to say out loud, Patton believes that doors should be opened gently whenever possible, not kicked or slammed, and Roman seems wont to do.</p><p>“Uncle Lo, Patton says that you’re not feeling great, I have soup, and pretty much as much teas as I could carry- Virgil’s picking up some other stuff right now, but he’ll be here soon-”</p><p>“We’re in the bedroom, Ro! And I didn’t say that he was sick-”</p><p>They’re going to have to fix the plaster on the walls at this point. There is no way that the handle didn’t take a good chunk of it off upon hitting the wall.</p><p>“Well what did you mean by “not feeling well” then? What’s- oh.”</p><p>“I’m not sure how else I would have said it, kiddo- but I was hoping you could help, maybe?”</p><p>Roman took a moment to set several bags of (he’s assuming) canned soup and tea on the floor, before making his way over to the bed, where Patton was sitting with Lo, who’s yet to move more than a few inches either way so far.</p><p>“You with us necktie? Are just not in the mood to talk or are you… somewhere else right now?”</p><p>Logan vaguely waved his hand in the “so-so” motion, and Patton felt immeasurable relief at how well Roman seemed to be taking this. </p><p>“You’ve seen him like this before?”</p><p>“...not exactly. More like I’ve been in his position before.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman’s not exactly an expert on dealing with someone who’s dissociating, (it would probably be easier with Virgil here,) but he knows the feeling, at least. It’s endlessly frustrating and a lot of times it’s difficult to communicate exactly what you want, and how that’s different from what you probably need. </p><p>Lo seems… mostly calm, and as much as he knows that <i>he</i> would be mad and want to actually start doing things again, it looks like Logan is probably fine to lie down and chill for a while. There is a tv, so he takes some time to pick a calm, quiet talkshow that probably won’t get annoying, and to get water and snacks arranged on the nightstand. </p><p>Today would just be like… a sleepover, really. That’s how he should think of it, really. Just a sleepover with his uncle and his friend. (Probably more than a friend, if he thought about it, but they hadn’t said anything so far, so he wouldn’t bring it up.)</p><p>When Virgil had arrived, he came carrying way more cold and flu medicine than ten sick people could need in a week, as well as a ton of spicy foods. </p><p>“I know what I’m doing, princey, spicy food helps when you’re sick.”</p><p>“But he’s not even sick, Vee! And what if he doesn’t like spicy food?”</p><p>“Then I’ll eat it, or dare Thomas to.”</p><p>“Oh that’s cruel; Thomathy is worse than me, he doesn’t know how to turn down a bet that involves food!”</p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan had asked to be left alone, so they were playing uno in the living room.</p><p>“Here, why don’t you go again Vee? I insist.”</p><p>“You aren’t the only one with a reverse card. I know you’re just trying to make me draw again because I don’t have yellow.”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, go ahead and play it. But then I won’t be responsible for what happens to Patty-cake.”</p><p>“Kiddos, c’mon, let’s play nice, yeah?”</p><p>It was fun, if the least friendly game they could have chosen to play, considering Patton’s lack of a monopoly board. The day was flying by with none of them really noticing it. Soon enough noon became the late afternoon, and Patton was asking what they wanted to do for dinner. Something simple that could be made at home, or delivery in; no one was very keen to leave the apartment.</p><p>“Well do you know what Logan’s favorite is? I know he likes sweet stuff but that’s about it.”</p><p>“...I think he mentioned something about crepes once, when we were fixing up Sparky.”</p><p>“Sparky? Is that seriously what you guys named it?”</p><p>“What? It’s a robot <i>and</i> a dog!”</p><p>“So do you two want to help me make crepes, then? Lo hasn’t really had anything super substantial today… a lot of fruit and some carbs would probably help!”</p><p>“...Do we even have all of the things to make crepes? They’re like those thin pancake things, right?”</p><p>“No, Roman, they’re <i>thai noodles.</i>”</p><p>“What did I say about playing nice!”</p><p>. . .</p><p>Roman’s learned his lesson about using a spatula to flip food in a pan, but that didn’t make it any less tempting to toss the pan like a chef in the movies. It just looked cool… </p><p>“I can see you thinking about doing something stupid, princey.”</p><p>“I am <i>not.</i>”</p><p>“And that’s exactly how I know that you are.”</p><p>“Look, it’s probably easier to flip a crepe than a-”</p><p>“<i>No</i> Roman!”</p><p>“The ceiling is too high for them to get stuck to it!”</p><p>“Unless you learn how to <i>actually</i> do it from someone who knows-”</p><p>“What are you boys talking about?”</p><p>“Roman wants to flip the crepes by tossing the pan but he doesn’t know how, and he got a pancake stuck to the ceiling the last time he tried. It took forever to get it down.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I can teach you two how, if you want? It’s really not so difficult once you’ve had some practice!”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yeah - there’s enough mix to have a few practice runs.”</p><p>He is <i>going</i> to get it right by the time they’re done, if only to show off that he could to the rest of their friends next weekend.</p><p>. . .</p><p>Logan wasn’t even slightly hungry by the time the sun was setting that day, but he appreciated the efforts that his family (when had they become that to him? Thoughts for later) had made to make dinner together. Well, if a traditional breakfast food could be considered ‘dinner’, but semantics aside, it was a kind gesture and the crepes were rather pleasantly sweet. He somehow managed almost half of the plate before neither his arm or jaw were able to continue the monotonous motions that were quickly tiring him, despite how he’d spent the whole day resting.</p><p>No one seemed to notice, or if they did they chose to pointedly ignore it and continue their conversation, which was kind.</p><p>“So princey, what did you and Nate do after the movie last night?”</p><p>“We went home and ate the rest of the pizza bagels, and then just stayed up watching tv. Why?”</p><p>“He didn’t… say anything weird then?”</p><p>“What do you mean ‘weird’?”</p><p>“Eh. Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>“Well now you <i>have</i> to tell me!”</p><p>“It’s not really any of my business.”</p><p>“I’ll buy you a backstage to whatever concert you want.”</p><p>“...one for Rem, too?”</p><p>“Duh.”</p><p>“Remy’s trying to set you and Nathan up. That’s why we ditched you guys.”</p><p>
  <i>”What.”</i>
</p><p>“Oooh! Do you like him, Roman? Is that why your friend is trying to set you two up?”</p><p>“Uhm! I don’t- I mean- How should I know, Patton!? I’ve literally never thought about it! I don’t even really know what a crush is supposed to feel like!”</p><p>“Well then now is the perfect time to think about it! I’m not really sure I’d be good at describing a crush, but I think you’ll know, if you do.”</p><p>“...I guess I <i>have</i> to start thinking about it now, so I can figure out just how much of Remy’s room needs to be covered in glitter.”</p><p>“Come on princey, just ask yourself how you’d feel if he asked you out on a date and you’ll have your answer. It’s not some puzzle to figure out, just be honest.”</p><p>“...I don’t know. I’m just… gonna spend some time on it.”</p><p>“That’s fair. Patton, do you know how to play blackjack? I saw some cards in the cabinet…”</p><p>. . . </p><p>How <i>did</i> he feel about Nathan?</p><p>It was a weird question to ask himself. One he’d thought he knew the answer to, just earlier that day. Did Nathan like <i>him</i> that way? Was that why Remy was trying to set them up? Or had Roman been unconsciously displaying signs of a crush that he wasn’t even aware he had? </p><p>He’s thought about romance before, obviously. It was an interesting subject and was something he thought was something sweet and beautiful, looking at it from afar. How was he even supposed to know how he felt if he’s never been romantically involved with someone? What if he <i>thinks</i> he has feelings for Nate, but it turns out that he was wrong and just hurts one of his friends?</p><p>It’s all so… exhausting. He’s going to deal with it in the morning. Sleep now, think about potentially world-ending drama later. Well maybe not <i>world-ending,</i> but it could be the end of <i>his</i> little world that he’s been building with Virgil and Remy and Nate and Thomas for the past few years...</p><p>Definitely thoughts for tomorrow...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The "acceptable" threshold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>One more to go. I'm not crying. YOU'RE crying. Shut up :(</p><p>Some important tidbits in the notes at the end of this chapter if you don't know Latin. Also, remember how Nate uses he/they in this series? Cause I do lmao. </p><p>Also this is my first time uploading in "rich text" so it might ruin everything..... in which case I'll fix it as quickly as possible lmao</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
just thought you might wanna know that roman is “thinking about” his romantic orientations.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Nate Malo you-would-shut-up nee&lt;<br/>
What the <i>fuck</i> does that mean and why are you telling me this </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
i’m saying that you don’t exactly have <i>no</i> chance. might wanna make your move before he bumps into someone hot on his “soul-searching quest” today :P</b>
</p><p>So maybe he was lying a bit to get Nathan to hurry up and ask Roman out so that Remy would stop trying to set them up, but he was really just exaggerating to freak him out a bit. Roman <i>was</i> going on some sort of “quest” to “find himself” today, but only to figure out his feelings towards Nate, not really romance in general. The chances that he would get swept off his feet my someone else in the process was pretty low.</p><p>Even if it turns out that Roman would rather not date Nathan, then at least the problem would be resolved and they could all get back to their normal lives. </p><p>...Well, as normal as it gets with a superhero, a vigilante, and three “average” teenagers that agreed to be their friends for some reason.</p><p>. . . </p><p>Virgil is an ass. But he already knew that, and that’s why they got along in the first place. Nathan wouldn’t deny that the number of times they and Roman have been ditched at movies and restaurants this week was frustrating, but it was… technically meant to be a kind gesture. </p><p>They could probably swallow their pride and ask Roman out, but they don’t really want to unless they<i>know</i> there’s a good chance the answer will be “yes.” Because otherwise there’s the risk of making everything awkward and ruining their friendship entirely. It would be such a stupid thing to get upset over, but they would much rather stay just friends and never know if their feelings were reciprocated than lose Roman entirely. </p><p>Why get burned when they could enjoy the warmth from afar?</p><p>...But that’s now how life works. At some point they’re going to have to just go for it, or Remy will probably just tell Roman outright and that would almost be worse than getting rejected outright. </p><p>And Virgil wasn’t entirely wrong. There’s no saying what Roman’s feelings are on the subject. If he never tries then what’s to stop Roman from just finding someone else and moving on entirely?</p><p>It’s just one text. That’s all it would take. Just one simple text, asking if they could have lunch together or something. They could do it. Just send the message and try not to change their name and move to another state immediately. </p><p>They type out the text as quickly as possible and then slam the phone down before there’s any chance of receiving a response.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Weird question but do you wanna go out on a lunch date or something today</b>
</p><p>. . .</p><p>No one told him that soul-searching was supposed to be so <i>difficult.</i></p><p>So far all Roman could think of to figure out his romantic feelings was just watching a ton of lovey-dovey movies on repeat and asking Patton as many questions as he could think of. Neither was very helpful at all, and he was about ready to give up not long after the clock struck noon.</p><p>Luckily (or maybe just conveniently) he ended up receiving a text from the subject of his inner debate around that same time.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Nate 🐍&lt;<br/>
Weird question but do you wanna go out on a lunch date or something today</b>
</p><p>...He wasn’t quite sure how to respond at first, because he had yet to figure out whether or not he liked Nathan that way yet, but… it was a good opportunity, in a sense. If they went out on an actual date, that would make it much easier to figure out how he would feel about it! As long as he was honest, of course.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Sure! I mean, I’m not sure if I understand romance or if it actually exists, but I’d be happy to go on a date with you anyway :)</b>
</p><p>The reply came almost immediately. It was just a link to an address, which turned out to be a restaurant when he googled it. A bit nicer than he’d normally go to normally,but not so much that he’d feel particularly underdressed in what he was wearing now. The versatility of a t-shirt and jeans was astounding, afterall…</p><p>. . .</p><p>“I really don’t know how to make this <i>not</i> awkward.”</p><p>“Me neither! We should probably order first, though.”</p><p>“...fair enough.”</p><p>It <i>is</i> very awkward. But Nathan can’t do much about that, so they’re content to leave it be for the moment.</p><p>Roman is good at making casual conversation though, even if they can’t contribute much to it. It’s just a little too hard to stop thinking about how this is an <i>actual date</i> that they are having with <i>Roman.</i> What the hell should they say? Of course, they’ve been on a date or two, but it was always something silly, and quite a few had been to school football games so that they could watch Roman and wish that things were just a little different. </p><p>“You know, the picture of this cake makes me want to assume it’s a carrot cake because there’s orange frosting and everything, but there’s no description. It could be anything. There isn’t even a picture of an individual slice to see the inside.”</p><p>“If you get it and it turns out to be dark chocolate what would you do.”</p><p>“I don’t know? Complain about false advertising? I don’t hate chocolate or anything but it would be <i>weird</i> to bite into a chocolate cake with all orange frosting when Halloween was like, three months ago.”</p><p>“Well now we <i>have</i> to order it.”</p><p>“Isn’t sweets for lunch something you’re like… not supposed to do?”</p><p>“Maybe. We wouldn't know, huh? My cousins never really cared about those kinds of rules, if I wanted a bunch of twinkies and a slice of cheese for dinner then I could. I say we get the cake.”</p><p>“Yeah. I mean, who cares about the rules?”</p><p>“...Says the one who punches people for breaking the law almost every day.”</p><p>“<i>Hey</i> that’s different. I don’t punch them because they broke the law, I punch them because they hurt people while doing it.”</p><p>. . . </p><p>This felt a lot more like just… hanging out than a date, in his opinion. Not that he knows a whole lot about dates, though. But it feels like he should be doing something… <i>more?</i> Something to make it seem less like just two people having lunch, anyway. </p><p>Roman was able to convince Nate to follow him a little ways down the street after they ate, to where he’s pretty sure there’s this one shop- yes! </p><p>“Okay, so I know this probably sounds really suspicious but I want you to stand right here and turn around. I’ll be back in a few minutes, just don’t try to watch where I’m going.”</p><p>“If I get mugged I’m blaming you.”</p><p>“You will <i>not.</i> I promise. I’ll be barely 100 feet away.”</p><p>“Alright. Hurry up, though. You have no idea how many people carry concealed knives in this city-”</p><p>“I’ll be <i>right back.</i> No looking!”</p><p>He knows Nate likes the color yellow, but has no idea if that changes what kind of flowers they’d like, so he sort of… buys a few of as many as he can carry. With the help of a basket, it turns out to be quite a large number, and he’s getting pollen everywhere.</p><p>“Okay, you can turn around now! Actually I might need to set this down first but-”</p><p>“That’s a lot of flowers, Roman.”</p><p>“It is!”</p><p>“...why.”</p><p>“For you? I mean- I know your favorite color is yellow but I didn’t know if that meant you like yellow <i>flowers</i> so I sorta… grabbed as many types as I could? I probably could have just asked but I wanted it to be a surprise-”</p><p>“You’re really lucky you have such a pretty face, Roman, I don’t know what I’d do if you- I. Okay just forget about that part, this was really nice of you, and you’re totally carrying these back to my place for me because that looks like it’s at least 30 pounds.”</p><p>“Oh, so you just want be to ignore the fact that you just called me pretty-”</p><p>“Yes, because if you mention it to anyone else I’m banning you from the bakery. You won't even be able to order anything for pick up, I swear.”</p><p>“Okay, okay, I yield! You may lead the way, beautiful.”</p><p>
  <i>”Thin ice, Roman.”</i>
</p><p>Roman chose to take the thinly-veiled smile as a sign that they weren’t actually mad, but he’d shut up for now.</p><p>...For <i>now,</i> at least.</p><p>. . . </p><p>
  <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
roman told me you guys went on a date???</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
yeah nbd</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
uhhh yes, bd. but if you don’t wanna talk i’ll just ask ro</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
We had lunch and he bought me enough flowers to plant my own damn garden</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
...sounds about right. nothing else tho?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Nothing else happened I promise</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
boring, but you do you. remy is literally grabbing champagne to celebrate, so congrats i guess</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Good for him</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;edgy makeup buddy&lt;<br/>
‘night, i gotta make sure this idiot doesn’t break something.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
good night</b>
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  The problem with “quitting” one’s career as a villain is that, unless one makes a formal statement to the public, it’s generally hard to pass the information around with any sort of effectiveness.
</p><p>
  Logan might have been worried about the number of threats he was receiving for refusing to work for any of his previous contractors, if not for the fact that they were so poorly written and full of grammatical errors most of the time

</p><p>
  River Walliums was the only one with any sense, and actually asked why he had such a sudden change of heart. He wasn’t going to openly admit to her that he was choosing to act with the forces actively trying to take her and her subordinates down, but he was polite and informed her that he was “retiring.”
</p><p>
  ...He received significantly fewer emails and calls after that, even with The Dusty Maple still running. Nathan has been informed to reject any further orders to “the owner’s account,” that weren’t directly from him, as well.
</p><p>
  <b></b>
</p><p>
  <b></b>
</p><p>
 Logan had considered contacting a local hero agency, or perhaps just changing his costume and appearing as support for the Red Knight when the situation called, but neither seemed quite suitable.
</p><p>
  Asking Roman had proved fairly useless, as his nephew wanted him to make a “grand debut,” which was exactly the sort of thing he did <i>not</i> want to do, and Virgil told him to “just wing it” which was even worse. 
</p><p>
  The only other person he could think to ask was Patton, and he didn’t exactly know much about hero or villain business. The conversation about how he had been a supervillain for longer than they had known each other was difficult enough.But there wasn’t much to lose at this point, so he decided there was no harm in asking.
</p><p>
  “I dunno, Lo! I mean, obviously you should go with what feels right for you, but I don’t see why it needs to be a huge deal? Maybe keep your costume as it is, but change your logo! Or change the colors - that would make it obvious that you switched, wouldn’t it?”
</p><p>
  “...I suppose so. That seems so… simple. But it would no doubt be effective, especially if I were to completely invert the color scheme… I believe I have some work to do.”
</p><p>
  
...The helmet had to be completely remade, as the material used to make it was naturally black, and not at all susceptible to dying; the lab coat was simpler, it was only a matter of using black tye-dye and removing the patch of his emblem.
</p><p>
  It was difficult to decide on what his new logo would be, though. The little brain wearing glasses had become so familiar, so decidedly… <i>him,</i> that the idea of replacing it was almost enough to make him emotional, somehow. There were actually several days where he spent his time actively avoiding drawing any new designs, when it was a combination of an old photo and Roman’s antics that led him to finally do it. 
</p><p>
  "Hey, Lo! This is you and my dad, right?”
</p><p>
  “...yes, it is.”
</p><p>
  "What’s that truck you guys are standing in front of? It’s got a really weird logo painted on it.”
</p><p>
  “That was one of Quin’s earlier projects. He spent a lot of time deciding on how to paint it, and he chose to be absolutely <i>ridiculous</i> and put the symbol of the garage he’d worked at, combined with an animal he believed was… comparable to me.”
</p><p>
  “Huh. That’s cool. So he thought you were like a bird? I don’t really see it...”
</p><p>
  "A raven, to be exact. It is commonly thought to be one of the most intelligent aves. They are also "persistent and devious little bastards" according to his reasoning."
</p><p>
  "That makes more sense! And the image of a raven holding a bunch of gears in its beak is really cool. It almost looks like it’s stealing them…”
</p><p>
  “That’s exactly what Quin had in mind if I remember correctly.”
</p><p>
  Well… it was certainly a sentimental choice. It would be a rather drastic change from his original emblem as well, which is what he was looking for, actually. Perhaps he would make some small changes while making the new patch, but this was a good start.
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nathan’s last name is Malonee. Malo means “I wish” is latin. Need I say more? </p><p> </p><p>(These children use CUTE SMS FACES and NO ONE can tell me otherwise.)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Uncle Lo and his idiot nephew Roman</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>:sob: :sob: :sob:  is all I gotta say rn</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Okay! Remember Pat, think of this room, right here and now. Nowhere else!”</p><p>“I know, kiddo! I’m gonna do it! I know I can!”</p><p>“In 3… 2…1!”</p><p>Patton immediately collapsed, and Roman caught him as gently as he could, and waited. If it had worked, Patton would be up and about in just a few moments. If not, they would just have to try again. Training a power like this was a bit difficult and weird, but he’d said he would help Pat get a hold of it. </p><p>After about a minute, Patton sat up suddenly and looked rather excited.</p><p>“I didn’t quite end up here, but I was just across the hall in my place! That’s the closest I’ve ever projected to myself!”</p><p>“That’s great, Pat! Ready to try again?”</p><p>“Yep! Maybe I should just sit down first, though…”</p><p>“...yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”</p><p>. . .</p><p>“Okay, Virgil, run the drill one more time, and then we will spar for a few rounds. I expect to have to put in some effort this time.”</p><p>“It’s really never just regular, positive-enforcement teaching with you, is it?”</p><p>“I think I am being much kinder than <i>my</i> sensei when I was learning the art.”</p><p>“Damn right you are! You aren’t teaching the boy any discipline, Tebeau!”</p><p>It would be a pointless endeavor to run from sensei Ta, but that did not make the compulsion any less great. Logan can still feel phantom pains of many, <i>many</i> kicks to his stomach without any of the standard protective gear. </p><p>“Sensei. What a...pleasure, to see you here. I thought you had retired.”</p><p>“Hardly. I took my hard-earned vacation time, because <i>someone</i> refused to become a first dan and help lighten the load.”</p><p> </p><p>“I told you, I am hardly qualified to teach an entire class-”</p><p>“And yet you can teach two boys just fine? Walter had told me about what’s been going on here.”</p><p>“...They are an exception and only two students as opposed to a full class! One of them already had a decent amount of combat experience, and Virgil is an easy student-”</p><p>“Excuses, excuses!”</p><p>“...Logan, what’s this guy talking about?”</p><p>There was no avoiding an eventual introduction, now… “Virgil, this is my sensei, sensei Ta, this is Virgil, a friend of my nephew. I’m still not taking the test.”</p><p>“The hell you aren’t! Now that I’m back, I will not be dealing with all of these idiots by myself again.”</p><p>“You have sensei Min and sensei Johnson to help you! There is no need-”</p><p>“How about this, Tebeau. If you can beat me on the mat, you won’t have to take the test, and I’ll quit asking. I’ve hardly been practicing my whole vacation!”</p><p>“That is obviously a lie, and regardless I wouldn’t want to fight you-”</p><p>“Logan! If you don’t fight him I’m gonna tell ro that you were too scared to fight an old man that’s half your size and you will never live it down!”</p><p>“That is- There are <i>many</i> reasons to fear this man, do not let appearances fool you, I would not be surprised to hear that he was raised by rabid wolves!”</p><p>“So you <i>are</i> scared to fight him?”</p><p>“Very much so! I am not paying to have an arm set, or be walking with a crutch for the next few weeks!”</p><p>How could Virgil not understand- well. He had never fought sensei Ta before, so of course, he would be skeptical upon first glance. The man really didn’t look very intimidating when you first met him, and Logan himself had been rather easily fooled in the beginning.</p><p>Perhaps a demonstration was in order, though he was not so cruel as to make Virgil fight the man on his own. </p><p>If sensei was really so determined to make Logan a teacher, then there was little he could do to avoid it. He’d managed to skirt around taking the test to become a black belt for quite some time now, and had been incredibly relieved when sensei had seemingly retired out of nowhere. Sixteen months was an incredibly long vacation, however…</p><p>“Very well. I will challenge you, sensei Ta, if you tell me why you were on “vacation” for so long.”</p><p>“I told you, I needed a break from all of these fools!”</p><p>“If that was true, you would have been away for a few weeks at most. Sixteen months is absurd for a “break.”</p><p>“...I’ll tell you, but only after you fight me.”</p><p>“That was not my condition.”</p><p>“Fine! But if you tell anyone else I will make your life a living hell, Tebeau.”</p><p>“Alright. Virgil, some privacy please?”</p><p>“...yeah, whatever. I need a water break anyway.”</p><p>...He and sensei took a seat in the bleachers, the one place almost no one occupied most of the time, as public matches were a rare occurrence. If one wanted to watch a friend or child’s progress, they could visit any time during regular hours.</p><p>“So? Why were you absent for so long?”<br/>
“Bad liver finally caught up to me. Had a couple of surgeries, and I was on dialysis for a few months, before I could get a donor. I was barely allowed to leave the bed, let alone work or spar with anyone.<br/>
Thought it would be better to not show up at all until I was better.”</p><p>“You <i>are</i> better, then?”</p><p>“I’m here aren’t I?”</p><p>“...I suppose. I was never aware your liver was failing.”</p><p>“No one did, save for some of my close family. It wasn’t anything to make a fuss about.”</p><p>“What- of course it was! If you hadn’t been so lucky and received a replacement on time-”</p><p>“I know, I know. If I’d thought I was really about to see the pearly gates I would have let my kids make a big deal over it. You would have known, trust me.”</p><p>“...Alright, then. I suppose it really wasn’t my business in the first place. But you <i>are</i> sure it’s okay for you to strain yourself again?”</p><p>“Hah! You think I’m going to “strain myself” fighting you? Last I remember you could barely lay a hand on me when I was using all of the handicaps I could think of.”</p><p>“I’m serious, sensei.”</p><p>“...I know you are. Yeah, I’ll be fine, Tebeau. You just worry about all of the idiots I’ll be putting you in charge of once you’re a dan.” </p><p>. . . </p><p>Roman has seen some pretty entertaining things in his life so far. Some were his fault, others just pure coincidence.</p><p>But <i>nothing</i> is going to top watching his uncle get his ass kicked be an otherwise seemingly harmless old man. And he means absolutely <i>nothing,</i> except for getting to see it in person, of course. Virgil’s skill with a camera was somewhat lacking, but it was still the greatest video to ever be recorded, in his opinion.</p><p>Apparently Virgil had also gotten a chance to spar with “sensei Ta”, but no one had recorded it, and he seemed less enthusiastic to discuss that part of the story.</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
why don’t <i>you</i> fight him if you’re so curious about it?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
I just want to know why you fought him after seeing what he did to Lo</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
he challenged me because i was laughing! and he was very aggressive about it! </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
…Well now I kinda want to fight him. As long as it’s not taekwondo rules, or I’d probably die.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Virgil 🌩️&lt;<br/>
good luck if you do, but leave me your assets in the will </b>
</p><p>
  <b>&gt;Me&lt;<br/>
Rude.</b>
</p><p>
 
. . .
</p><p>
  “So when was I going to be informed that I’m a fifth wheel?”
</p><p>
  “Hmm? What do you mean Thomathy?”
</p><p>
  “Don’t play dumb, I saw your and Remy’s insta posts - you seriously couldn’t find boyfriends that <i>aren’t</i> my two best friends? There’s something in the bro code about this I think.”
</p><p>
  “Oh no! I have broken the bro code, I bring dishonor to my family!”
</p><p>
  "Yes, you do. Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow-”
</p><p>
  
    <i>”Not the cow! What did Bessie do to deserve this?!”</i>
  
</p><p>
  ...It was a little hard for Thomas to keep pretending to be mad after that. They both broke down into a horrible fit of laughter like children, and that was pretty much the end of coherent discussion for a while.
</p><p>
  In all honesty, he hadn’t actually been very upset about all of his friends dating out of the blue, it was about how they just seemed to forget to mention it to him. But it didn’t seem like they’d done it out of any malintent, it just wasn’t a big deal for them. That or, in rather classic fashion, they’d just forgot.
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  “Now follow me closely, class. Keep your center of balance in your hips, as you would when standing flat, but adjust your stance as-”
</p><p>
  <b>“Lo! Come over here and fight me!”<br/></b>
</p><p>
  “...adjust your stance as I do, with the right arm, still with your hands in closed fists-”
</p><p>
  “Logan!”
</p><p>
  “Roman, I am busy, there are <i>plenty</i> of other people you could spar with-”
</p><p>
  "But I can’t punch <i>them</i> in the face!”
</p><p>
  “...5 minutes for break, class, and I would like you all to watch this match carefully, as I will be quizzing you on everything Mr. Kingsley does incorrectly.”
</p><p>
  It would be rather pointless, as Roman rarely adheres to the standard point-system of taekwondo, and Logan had long given up attempting to apply penalties to him, as it never discouraged the behavior. When Roman wanted to fight him specifically, it’s because his nephew was looking for a challenge, someone who wouldn’t go easy on him, and who he wouldn’t have to hold back with either.  
</p><p>
  That meant grappling, pushing, or turning away from the opponent were all allowed between them. The end of the match would come when one of them surrendered, or if any fractures or breaks occurred.
</p><p>
  Though, considering he was to be performing for his class in a sense, (they were less awful than he’d imagined and yet worse than he’d hoped. Several would no doubt drop out by the end of the month) he would do his best to stick to the standard rules. It would mean restraining himself a bit, not fighting quite as roughly as he would if he was defending his life, but not by much. 
</p><p>
  Logan had chosen taekwondo for a reason - it was best suited to his body type, was neither exceedingly difficult nor simple to learn, and most importantly, it’s a full-contact sport.
</p><p>
  ...It also helps that for the past year and a half, he’d had many chances to study and adapt to this particular opponent. Roman is easy to predict. He tends to lean towards high punches with his left fist and using elbows and knees over full-on kicks, likely due to how he originally learned to fight. 
</p><p>
  He recognizes a faint when he sees one, it is a left hook disguised as a jab with his right (later he would have to ask how his nephew’s style of punching came to vaguely resemble boxing, and who’d taught him that) and Logan took the opportunity to step out of range, quickly moving back in with a right hook kick. Roman would duck, which would make it much easier to- 
</p><p>
  Except that Roman did <i>not</i> duck, or attempt to dodge at all, but rather chose to attempt a very <i>stupid</i> stunt, one that Logan doesn’t ever remember teaching him how to do, which is <i>grabbing Logan’s foot as it gets within inches of making contact.</i>
</p><p>
  He doesn’t entirely cancel the momentum, however, and causes Logan to trip in a very awkward way, while he essentially hits himself in the face with the back of his hand, and it’s an awful experience for everyone involved.
</p><p>
  “...Well. I didn’t quite get to “let gravity do its job,” but I think I did okay for a first attempt, huh?”&lt;
</p><p>
  “Did you seriously just attempt to copy a move you’ve only seen happen maybe half a dozen times, with no practice whatsoever?”
</p><p>
  “Nnooooooo...”
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  "Okay, okay, so this <i>might</i> just immediately blow itself up, <i>or</i> it will start up just fine and we’ll only have to worry about it catching fire.”
</p><p>
  "I’m ready when you are Virgil. Patton has informed me that he will by standing by his fire extinguisher all night.”
</p><p>
  "Alright! Okay, let’s- yeah let’s just turn it on. Fuck it-”
</p><p>
  With the press of a few buttons on his tablet, Virgil prepared for some sort of explosion or, something worse- but nothing happened. There was a soft whirr of machinery and the sound of pressurized air firing intermittently though, so after a moment he opened his eyes and brought his arms down from where they’d been shielding his face. 
</p><p>
  It was… working just fine. Probably. He hadn’t given it any commands yet, just turned it on and let the startup sequence run. It really isn’t an impressive machine, compared to other things he’s made with Logan since he’d started working with him, but this was the first one Virgil had made completely on his own. It even <i>looked</i> pretty boring - like if someone was given a vague description of a spider without having ever seen one, and they made it way too big.
</p><p>
  The thing was (if all went well) supposed to be able to move in any direction and climb to an extent. It wouldn’t even be able to carry much because of how light it was, but it would be fun to mount a camera to and freak people out with it. Really, the only reason he’d been excited to make it in the first place was because it was his first solo project, and Logan was much more fond of hydraulics than pneumatics, so this was a chance to try something new. 
</p><p>
  ...It did move when he told it to, at least, but it fell over. A lot. Eventually, he had to just shut it off because it was more likely to just break something than get better with more attempts.
</p><p>
  "...So that was pretty lame, huh?”
</p><p>
  "Not at all. It was amazing for a first test, actually; I was rather surprised it was able to take several steps before losing balance. For someone who has never worked with pneumatic machinery before, that was a spectacular show.”
</p><p>
  “Guess you’d know better than me, huh? Still… thanks.”
</p><p>
  “Of course. Now- I believe we have a few hours before the sun begins to rise. There’s plenty more work to be done.”
</p><p>
  "Insomnia bros?”
</p><p>
 “If you must call it that.”
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  Patton’s reasons for asking Lo to watch a Valentine-themed movie with him on the week of said holiday were no one’s business but his own, thank you very much. Though, if asked, he would say it’s because he’d “accidentally” bought two tickets online instead of one, and didn’t want to waste it.
</p><p>
  It’s not like he had <i>plans</i> or anything. Really. It would just be nice to go see a movie with his friend and to pretend like he wasn’t alone for the most romantic holiday of the year.
</p><p>
  Valentine’s day had never used to feel especially lonely until he’d stopped spending them by himself. Logan had been his neighbor for going on six years, and for five of them, they’d spent pretty much every holiday together; playing board games, drinking wine, and not asking the other why they weren’t spending the day with a family or group of friends. 
</p><p>
  <i>That</i> had never felt lonely, especially after having spent the two preceding Christmases all by himself. And it still didn’t- he didn’t feel <i>alone,</i> now, he just… wasn’t as happy with being “just friends”. There wasn’t a particular time when it had come about, he just gradually started hoping for more to happen between them, even when there was nothing to suggest Logan felt the same.
</p><p>
  All he could do was hope, and maybe one day he’ll crack and just say it out loud, and if that happens, he’ll deal with the consequences then. But today, he’s seeing a movie with his best friend in a way-too-overpriced theater, and then they’re gonna go home and Logan will point out how stupid people act when they’re in love, Patton will say that he think’s it’s sweet, and they’ll figure out what to do for dinner.
</p><p>
  Except that on the way home, Logan is silent. He doesn’t say anything about the people walking around with armfuls of chocolate and flowers, or what Patton is pretty sure was a proposal they just drove past. It’s weird, and while it doesn’t exactly feel <i>tense,</i> it’s still awkward. 
</p><p>
  "...So I found a recipe for perogies last night! It’s not really in the spirit of the holiday, I think, but it would be cool to try!”
</p><p>
  “Why did you buy tickets to a movie you wouldn’t like?"
</p><p>
  “Huh? What do you mean, Lo? I mean yeah, it was kinda cheesy, but-”
</p><p>
  “You weren’t wearing your glasses. You do that when you aren’t paying attention to whatever show you have on, or book you’re reading. I didn’t see you wearing them once for the entire movie; did you not care for it?”
</p><p>
  "Oh. Uh- I mean. I guess I was just… focused on something else.”
</p><p>
  Logan’s right. He hadn’t bothered with wearing his glasses, (he does need them to do things like reading, or enjoy tv, but he likes to take them off to rest his eyes, sometimes) and had instead spent a good portion just daydreaming. 
</p><p>
  Thinking about how it would have been if Patton had entered Lo’s apartment with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates that morning. If <i>Logan</i> had bought flowers. He couldn’t even remember the main point of the movie, to be honest. Just that there were a lot of brightly-colored outfits and occasionally a loud noise would distract him.
</p><p>
  "Must have been something important to distract you for almost two hours.”
</p><p>
  "You could say that.”
</p><p>
  "Did something happen?”
</p><p>
  "...like what?”
</p><p>
  "I mean - whatever had you so distracted, if that’s really all it was, did something happen that I am not aware of?”
</p><p>
  “Oh no, nothing happened Lo! Everything’s fine, I guess I was just… I dunno. Forget about it.”
</p><p>
  They were already in the parking garage of the apartments, he just needs to get upstairs and get the conversation focused on dinner instead...
</p><p>
  "Do you… regret inviting me to the movie with you?”
</p><p>
  “What? No, of course not! Really, there’s no one I’d rather have spent today with!”
</p><p>
  “...If you are certain.”
</p><p>
  "I am. Look, I was just- being silly, is all. I was thinking…” the best lies are built on the truth, right? He’d read something like that somewhere… “I was thinking about how sucky it is, that I’ve uh. Been single this long, you know? I always thought that… I don’t know. The right person would just come along when I wanted them to, like a movie…”
</p><p>
  “I suppose that makes sense, though I don’t quite feel the same. I’ve never truly thought about having a partner. It always seemed rather pointless and disgusting in high school, but I learned that it is possible to have more substantial relationships.”
</p><p>
  “Of course it’s possible. Anyone can find the right person if they look hard enough and put in the effort!”
</p><p>
  He doesn’t say <i>I’ve already found mine.</i> He doesn’t mention how he would be content to never date again if he could stay by Logan’s side. 
</p><p>
  Somehow, Logan figures it out anyways. He’s smart like that. Even when it’s something he knows nothing about, he’s great at learning how. And he’s been learning how to see what Patton’s thinking for almost six years, now. He’s a certified expert.
</p><p>
  Of course, that doesn’t mean Patton is <i>at all ready</i> when Logan finally speaks.
</p><p>
  “Patton Mecking, I am not gloating when I say that I’m almost never wrong. I may not always know what to look for, but when I do I always find it. I do not do things by mistake. It would be incredibly idiotic of me to say that our meeting was <i>fated,</i> or anything of that sort, but I am certain that finding you was no mistake, even if I was not actually looking.”
</p><p>
  "...Logan- I- that’s real sweet, but what-”
</p><p>
  “Would it be- acceptable to kiss you?”
</p><p>
  He can’t even <i>begin</i> to try and respond to that with words, but he nods. What else can he do? It’s nothing at all like he’d imagined it, not <i>once</i> had he dreamed about kissing Logan in a parked car, in a parking garage, still tired from sitting through a movie he didn’t care about at all.
</p><p>
  And yet, it was just as magical. Probably way shorter than he imagined it was, and not at all smooth (when was the last time he’d actually <i>kissed</i> someone? He doesn’t remember being so excited about it before…) but it was fantastic anyway. Then they just - they get out of the car, and they get on the elevator to the thirtieth floor, and… 
</p><p>
  They make dinner together as they had planned to. The night is spent inordinately silent, and they cuddle on the couch to watch a movie that Patton is actually interested in, this time. Nothing is different, save for the kiss, and somehow he wonders if anything was <i>supposed</i> to change. If anything was supposed to be different, now. 
</p><p>
  ...Maybe not. Maybe that says something about them, or their relationship, (whatever it is now) but he doesn’t care. If there’s more to it, they’ll work it out together. This is all he needs for now, though. Logan, in his arms, over-analyzing a plot that made sense until he explained it, and the knowledge that tomorrow would end the exact same way.
</p><p>
  . . .
</p><p>
  “You know what? It doesn’t look half bad. Definitely different, but I think you’re officially ready for your first hero debut, Logos!”
</p><p>
  “Can’t say the same about the name though, you barely changed it. But I guess I did just assume you’d keep calling yourself Logic, so it’s better than nothing.”
</p><p>
  “I’m just really excited to see how this all lo-<i>goes!</i>”
</p><p>
  Logan was proud of the final outcome of his costume redesign, and while he could admit that the change of name had been… less than creative, the whole point was to make it obvious enough who he was, and that he had changed sides. 
</p><p>
  While that likely would not stop any other heroes from attempting to capture him, as well as anger any former-allies that had yet to clue it to what he’d done. Not that he isn’t used to running by now. Dodging and escaping when possible and countering with explosive force when not. And this time, he won’t be alone when the punches (both literal and metaphorical) come. 
</p><p>
  “You know, you’re gonna have to forgive me if I accidentally punch you in the face when we get to fight together. Habit and everything.”
</p><p>
  “Of course. And the same to you. I may not be able to resist the urge to kick you in the back of your head. Reflexes. You understand.”
</p><p>
  “Totally.”
</p><p>
  "Well, if you two are done with… whatever this is, Pat left and said he’s making pasta to celebrate. Might want to put the million-dollar super suit and equipment away.”
</p><p>
  “Three million, actually.”
</p><p>
  “...Okay, Well I’m gonna go set up plates or something, at least. You guys can deal with this mess.”
</p><p>
  And with that, four had suddenly become two. Logan feels as though, perhaps, there is something poetic about that. Though he isn’t typically one for poetry. 
</p><p>
  “You know, in all seriousness Lo… I’m proud of you. This is a pretty big change to make.”
</p><p>
  “It is. There will no doubt be consequences.”
</p><p>
  "Mhm. And we’ll deal with those consequences by punching them in the face and reminding them that the hero always wins.”
</p><p>
  &lt;"...A falsehood, but one that I can let slide, I believe."
</p><p>
  After all, little is certain, in this world. Very little, indeed. Oftentimes, the only way to be certain that something is true is to make it so. And out of every hero Logan has ever encountered or heard of, Roman is the most likely to bring a real change to this world. 
</p><p>
  He could turn it into a place where people don’t have to lose their entire family in one night. A place where children don’t have to worry about something like where they’re going to sleep at night. A place where a potentially fatal surgery isn’t something to be envious of. 
</p><p>
  Yes. If anyone could do it, it would be Roman. And the kid would have whatever help Logan could provide along the way, whether that be as Logos or Uncle Lo.
</p>
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